One day after barbershop owner and West Scranton native Brian Nardella was laid to rest, his friend and business partner reflected on their journey.
It all began in a barber chair in Scranton.
“I started getting my haircut by him and then we became fast friends,” said James Simon, owner of Loyalty Barber Shop Scranton, who now lives in Long Beach, California. A mutual friend introduced the two in the mid-2000s. “One thing led to another, and it became obvious that we needed to do our own thing.”
Nardella, 49, died March 27 after a car accident in Scranton. He founded Loyalty Barber Shop Archbald with Simon and Joseph Siconolfi, who died of cancer in 2013.
The three friends opened the traditional barber shop in 2012, Simon said, “with an added twist of modern culture like punk rock, cars, hot rods and motorcycles.” The men were inspired by shops on the West Coast and a “cross-pollination” of underground cultures, he added.
“We decided to do the way that we saw it [there] in our way here,” Simon said. “It seemed like it blew up really quickly.” Loyalty expanded, bringing additional shops to downtown Scranton in 2014 and Wilkes-Barre in 2016.
Simon remembers Nardella as “a wonderful family man” and thoughtful friend. He’s survived by his father, mother-in-law, siblings and wife, Lynne.
During a tough time in his life, Simon, also a musician, said Nardella surprised him with a gift – “the dream guitar,” a brand new Rickenbacker bass. “He was just so supportive of the path that I was on,” Simon said, “and that's what he would do for people that he loved.”
The men weren’t lifelong barbers. They both tried a few careers before they opened Loyalty. After high school, Nardella was a police officer in Lackawanna County and later studied graphic design. Simon worked in the gas industry and as a plumber before Nardella inspired him to attend barber school.
'That's what Brian would want'
Back in NEPA for Nardella’s memorial and funeral, Simon caught up with the folks who now keep the businesses running. “A lot of these people I’ve been friends with for almost 20 years. It was nice to reunite,” he said. “[The shop in] Archbald has a great crew… they're all really heartbroken about this, but they've stepped up and did everything that they had to do.”
The Archbald shop closed on March 27 after employees learned of Nardella’s accident. The next day, the barbers were back.
“They know that's what Brian would want,” Simon said. “He was incredibly kind, but he ran a tight ship. There's a reason the shops are as successful as they are.”
They kept the shop going until the afternoon of April 2, when it closed for Nardella’s viewing that evening. Archbald remained closed on Wednesday for his funeral.
Danielle Barrett was at Loyalty Archbald on Tuesday before its early closing. She worked at the Scranton shop until about two months ago and now owns Hometown Barber Co. in Peckville. She knew Nardella for about 10 years.
“Even though I left Loyalty, he came in to see [my new shop] right before I was up and running,” Barrett said. “I never expected to see him walk through the door that day.”
She remembered him as a mentor to others. “You could have zero experience [as a barber] and he'll make you perfect,” she said, “like never picking up scissors to being a top barber in the area.”
Nardella was a lover of animal shelters, she said. He and his wife adopted rescue dogs, and his family requested donations to Griffin Pond Animal Shelter in Clarks Summit in lieu of flowers.
“I have two dogs that are crazy,” Barrett said, “and since he passed ... I feel like I have more patience with them because I'm like, ‘What would Brian do,’ you know?”
Nardella will be remembered as “a great husband, a great son and a great brother,” Simon said. “He's going to be missed by a lot of different people and in a lot of different ways.”
