Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeri Yingling and Mike Weinberg.
The story dates back to 2012 before Iron Heritage Grooming Co. began. At that time, Illinois licensed barber Mike Weinberg was barbering at a neighborhood barbershop on Chicago’s Northside and began to expresses the concerns of the Men’s Grooming industry that was being led by companies with no credentials and esthetic manufacturers produce products. Said manufacturers or “home cooks” could NOT explain HOW, WHY and WHAT their products did for consumers.
Weinberg met a long-time handcraft apothecary producer and Pennsylvania native, Jeri Yingling, who was residing in Chicago. Yingling spent the last 2 years consulting with manufacturers to correct inconsistent ingredients listed on products, contradicting purposes such as shampoo and conditioner combinations, and the lack of education of a proper pH balance of hair and skin. Weinberg and Yingling were determined to craft a line of products that educated consumers and were made with the proper ingredients.
Weinberg and Yingling began the grooming line company. We prided ourselves on getting customers involved in the product creation and testing phases that we decided to expand our grooming line into our own barbershop that allowed our customers to get more involved. We wanted to offer our customers the best one-stop shop by carrying quality brand products, clothing and more. So Iron Heritage & Supply Co. was born. We opened the doors to the public on April 1, 2017.
Has it been a smooth road?
I would love to say that opening a business was an easy task, but unfortunately, we hit many bumps in the road. Chicago makes opening a small business very difficult and there were many obstacles we had to go through.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a Neighborhood Barbershop with Men’s Grooming and Mercantile. We specialize in offering our customers the best service we possibly can by offering appointments, credit card payment options and walk-ins when available. We ask our customers questions to ensure that everyone is on the same page and ensuring they are taking care of their hair and skin with the best products and habits. We pride ourselves on our ability to problem solve issues with our customers. We want our customers to trust us and know that we aren’t sales persons, we generally care about your health of your skin and hair and offer healthy solutions.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
We love Chicago and we enjoy working with local Chicago companies. We make every attempt to work locally when we can within the barbershop and the grooming company.
Sadly, the process for government controlled items take a very lengthy process to get completed. We spent 9 months waiting to go through the Zoning Board of Appeals in order to obtain our business license and we were required to obtain a lease and pay for rent during those months without being able to open our business. Chicago has a lot of opportunity to open small businesses and we have recently joined the SBAC to help other inspiring entrepreneurs maneuver the obstacles much faster and easier.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4025 N Damen Ave., Chicago, IL 60618
- Website: www.ironheritagesupply.co
- Phone: 773-857-0277
- Email: shop@ironheritage.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ironheritagesupplyco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ironheritagesupplyco/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ironheritageco
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/iron-heritage-and-supply-co-chicago-5
- Other: www.ironheritage.co
Image Credit:
Ted Beranis
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