A Tri-Cities barber hangs up his shears after 66 years

As Larry Maltos stands at the window of his shop, a man walks up to peer inside.

The barber waves at him with a smile on his face, but a note written on a torn piece of paper indicates that the LM Barber shop is closed.

After a lifetime of giving some of the best flat-top haircuts in the Tri-Cities, the years and one more injury have done what a knee replacement, heart surgery and even a broken neck couldn’t — forced him to stop cutting hair.

“The ‘50s and ‘60s were the best years for haircuts,” Maltos jokes. “Then came The Beatles and nobody got haircuts. The barber business went down to two.”

In October, the 89-year-old Kennewick man was cutting hair when he tore a rotator cuff after years of holding his arm up. The injury is forcing him to shut down his First Avenue storefront after 66 years.

Stepping into Maltos’ barbershop is like a step back in time. It’s decorated in wood paneling, gold wallpaper and faded posters of San Francisco. A rotary telephone sits on top of a CRT television, and even the old barber chairs with outlets built in are antiques.

He moved to downtown Kennewick in 1953 after finishing barber school in Yakima. For five years, he worked for another barber at the corner of First Avenue and Auburn Street. Once he saved up, he bought the building and moved into his current spot.

When he moved to the city, it had 12,000 people and a downtown that was the center of activity.

“There was no mall or anything,” he said. “It was really a beautiful, quiet little town. ... (Haircuts) were $1. When they went up to $1.25, everybody was really mad.”

There are way more people in the area now, and the hairstyles have changed. People used to come to his shop for flat tops, and now they’re looking for skin fades.

One thing Maltos never gave up: using a straight razor to shave along the back of people’s necks.

Loyal customers

In more than a half-century of cutting hair, Maltos built up a devoted clientele. Even after he shut down the shop, people were wondering when he would reopen.

“My brother-in-law called me up to ask if he is coming back to work,” said his daughter, Rebecca Maltos Carl. “He says, ‘My partner here in my business has gone to get a flat top three different times and they screwed it up every time.’”

Even after numerous surgeries, his clients are what kept him coming back. They would come in and tell him what was bothering them. While he gave advice when asked, it was rare they would take it.

“They know what is said in the barber shop, stays in the barber shop,” he said. “I really like the customers. It’s more like a family coming in here.”

When they got into the barber chair, he knew exactly how they wanted their hair cut. When they couldn’t come in the store, he would go to their homes to cut hair. Maltos Carl said she remembered going to a nursing home with him when she was little.

When it was busy, he would give 35 haircuts in a day, he said. Often he would be joined by some number of his eight children, who would work in the store sweeping up hair or shining shoes.

He’s cut the hair for five generations of family members. His oldest clients were 99 and his youngest was a 6-year-old boy. The child sent him a card saying that he misses Maltos, and he sent a Christmas card with a picture.

“He is a really nice kid. He always gets in the chair and never says a word. I always give him some candy,” Maltos said.

Closing the store

All but two of his children have moved away, but at least three of them picked up their father’s interest in making people look nice. Maltos Carl and one of his sons cut hair, while another daughter works on nails.

It’s hard for Maltos to stay away from the store, he said. He still has to sell the building, and it’s unlikely that he will find a barber to buy it. He goes for walks in the morning, and he knows that if he came down to the store, people would start showing up.

“I miss them a lot and I’m doing well,” he said. “I miss their friendship, and the conversations, and I really appreciate the business. I’m very grateful for every one.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 10:39 AM.