By Tina Jenkins Bell
BAPA School Liaison
Barber shop to offer free haircuts, school supplies and food.
Tony Moore, master barber and owner of Mr. Tony & Co. VIP, a barber shop at 11626 S. Western, Ste. E, is at it again. His free back-to-school event, Mr. Tony’s Back to School Jam, is Sun., Aug. 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Moore will open up his shop to returning students, from kindergarten to the 8th grade, to receive free haircuts, school supplies and food. Public, private or Catholic school students are all eligible to participate, Moore said, and as a master barber, he can cut any hair type.
Prior to COVID, Moore had sponsored back-to-school haircuts along with food and free school supplies for six years straight. During the pandemic, however, he was forced to put the Back to School Jam on hiatus for safety’s sake. Now that the pandemic has waned, Moore is happy to again offer the Back to School Jam, a tradition that he intends to continue into the future.
This year is particularly special to him because the event occurs on the anniversary of the day he opened Mr. Tony & Co. VIP eleven years ago.
Moore grew up in the Beverly/Morgan Park area. He attended Barnard Elementary School and Percy Julian High School. He hosts the Back to School Jam because he felt incredibly blessed as a kid and wants to help other kids by giving back.
Moore began cutting hair 25 years ago, not counting the years he “was messing around with the clippers in grammar school.” He has owned salons on Western Avenue since 1999.
For more information, call 773-354-2653, follow Moore on TikTok @MrTonyVIP, Instagram @MrTony2 or check out his website, mrtonyandcompany.com.
