After more than half a century cutting and styling men’s hair at locations around the world, barber Benito “Benny” Catanzariti is bringing his decades of experience in men’s hair care and styling to A Look for All Seasons salon in Manlius.
“I’ve learned how to shape hair styles to a person’s face. I want to make them look good and try something new,” Catanzariti said.
He also works to avoid the “production shop” aspect of many barber shops, and instead prefers to focus on taking his time, getting to know the customer and finding a hairstyle to fit his face.
Catanzariti has been in the hair cutting business for a long time now. At the age of 13, in his hometown of Calabria, Italy, Catanzariti started working at a barber shop cleaning up and preparing customers for the barbers. As time went on, Catanzariti learned skills from his mentors and by 14 he was able to start shaving customers. By 15, he got the opportunity to start cutting hair.
“Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be a barber,” Catanzariti said. “But there were no schools for cutting hair back then. My parents told me I couldn’t just hang out on the street and had to figure out what I wanted to be.”
After a few years working at the barber shop in his hometown, Catanzariti moved to Rome, Italy. He began cutting hair on Via Veneto, a well-known street in Rome with a barber who was a family friend.
At age 22, one of his customers was so impressed by Catanzariti’s hair cutting, he asked him to move to London.
“I was in shock. I asked my boss and he said to me, ‘Benny, take it, go! Take a chance, you’re a young man!’ So I went to London with the help of an Italian man who was already living there,” Catanzariti said. “They had built up a good reputation for when I got there.”
After six successful years in London, Catanzariti then moved to New York City because his brother was living there and his parents encouraged him to go. He opened a shop in the Bronx and met his wife, Rita.
After five years in the Bronx, Catanzariti and his wife moved to Morris County, N.J., where he opened Benny’s Hair Salon.
“I was the first guy to bring hair styling to Morris County,” said Catanzariti. “After a few years, I opened a second Benny’s Hair Salon and they were successful for 40 years.”
In addition to styling hair, Catanzariti has been very involved in UNICO National, an Italian-American service organization dedicated to promoting the heritage through scholarships and other programs.
In November, Catanzariti and his wife moved from New Jersey to Fayetteville to be closer to their daughter, who is living in the area with her husband and children. Catanzariti said he wanted to find a place where he would be able to continue his skill of cutting hair without the “production shop” feeling to it.
Through the help of his family, he was able to meet Linda Hatch, the owner of A Look for All Seasons salon. Hatch had an open room available to rent to Catanzariti, who specializes in men’s full service color, cut and style.
“You have to like what you’re doing, you have to enjoy and be happy,” Catanzariti said. “Passion, if you love what you’re doing, you’re going to be good at it.”
A Look for All Seasons is located at 220 Fayette St. in Manlius across from the swan pond. Interested customers can call Catanzariti at (862) 703-0231 to schedule an appointment.
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
