NEW HAVEN, CT — Phil’s barbershop issued its last haircut on Wall Street Saturday — in a building near the heart of Yale’s downtown campus that it has operated out of for more than a century.
That last Phil’s Hairstyles customer at 82 Wall St. happened to be yours truly.
Future Phil’s customers will have to go to the barbershop’s other downtown spots, at 55 Whitney and 71 Audubon.
I found out about the Wall Street Phil’s closure Saturday after biking downtown in a rush, in desperate need of a trim. I just barely beat the 4 p.m. closing time at a barbershop I’ve been going to on and off for the better part of 15 years.
I was lucky enough to get a haircut from Su Chen Chin. We talked about our families, summer trips, thick hair, and the store’s decision to shut down its Wall Street location.
She said that her longtime colleague and decades-long Phil’s stalwart Cal McManus had retired in July, leaving her as the only full-time barber at the Wall Street spot. She’ll now be moving over to the Whitney Avenue location, where Phil’s barbers will continue to cut customers’ hair.
A sign taped to the 82 Wall St. front door offers further details on the barbershop closure and move. That sign reads in full:
After proudly serving the New Haven community for more than a century, Phil’s Hairstyles will be reorganizing its operations following the retirement of longtime lead barber Carl McManus. As part of this transition, the Wall Street location will close, while Phil’s Hairstyles on Whitney Avenue and Phil’s Hair & Spa on Audubon Street will remain open.
Founded in the early 1920s, Phil’s Hairstyles on Wall Street has been a staple in Downtown New Haven — known for its old-school charm, personal service, and deep roots in the Yale and Greater New Haven communities. Carl’s steady hand, warm personality, and decades of dedication have been instrumental in maintaining this tradition of excellence. His retirement marks the end of an era, and this change will allow Phil’s to consolidate operations from three locations to two while continuing to deliver the same friendly, high-quality service customers have come to expect.
Phil’s invites all of its valued Wall Street customers to visit its Whitney-Audubon District locations, where the same skilled barbers, hairstylists, and welcoming atmosphere await. The team thanks the community for allowing them to be part of their lives for generations and looks forward to serving customers for many more to come.
On Tuesday, the shop was dark, with a “Phil’s Hairstyles” sign sitting on the floor next to an ATM. Taped to the sidewalk-facing front window was a flyer advertising McManus’ retirement party after 60 years of cutting hair at Phil’s. (The party will take place at Lost in New Haven at 80 Hamilton St. on Sept. 9, 5:30 to 8 p.m., suggested donation $25 to help cover the cost of the event and in support of McManus’ retirement.)
Also in the window was an official citation from the Connecticut General Assembly, issued on Oct. 13, 2024, to commemorate Phil’s Hairstyles’ 100th anniversary. “For a century, this cherished New Haven institution has delivered exceptional service, and barbering at the highest standards for the greater New Haven community, building an enduring legacy,” that citation reads.
Click here to read a 2015 Daily Nutmeg article about the Wall Street Phil’s location, which included “warm lather, straight razors, 1920s-era Koken barber chairs,” and photos of past customers like former Yale Presidents Rick Levin and Peter Salovey, and former U.S. President George H.W. Bush.
The four-story brick building where Phil’s Wall Street location was is owned by Yale University. Now that Phil’s has closed and Yale has turned the former Naples Pizza location into academic space, the only commercial storefront still in operation on that block between College and Temple is a Common Grounds cafe.
The New Haven Independent is a not-for-profit public-interest daily news site founded in 2005.