Kacey New wasn’t sure that she’d ever have her own salon. But she was sure that she was cut out (no pun) for helping men look their best.

“I wanted to have my own business, but I didn’t know for sure that that was how it was going to go — but that was always the goal,” says New, owner of the Men’s Den in downtown Cullman. “When I was a child, my grandpa — who had multiple sclerosis — I would roll his wheelchair over to the sink and scrub his head, and pluck hairs and groom him. So it’s always been in me, since I was a child, to do this — because of him.”

Ever since the Men’s Den opened in November of last year, New and her staff have been inundated with local men looking for a haircut, a shave, or one of many other specialty grooming services that transforms a trip to the barber from a mundane chore into a mini-destination kind of experience.

“We’ve had to turn people away, it’s gotten so busy,” New confesses. “But it’s good. A lot of days, there’ll be a bunch of guys in here who know each other, so it’s definitely got kind of that community feeling.”

Transforming a haircut into a social opportunity is part of the plan, says New, who operates a shop that’s easy to spend time in.

Walk into the Men’s Den and you’re stepping into a curated environment. Masculine but relaxed, it’s the sort of place that feels as much a place to hang out as a functioning barber shop. Mounted animal trophies here, an old-school motorcycle there, skateboards, vintage photos and collected bric-a-brac years in the making — it’s an ambiance designed to make you look forward to your next appointment. Even the chairs have a vintage, old-school vibe, and if you ask, you can even kick back with a cold Goat Island beer — compliments of the house.

So far, it’s all working — almost too well. With a customer demand that’s begun overwhelming the staff on their busiest days (“Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we’re just packed,” says New), the shop is set to expand next week from four chairs to six, a growth spurt that will require additional stylists and make the ‘Den feel that much more lively.

As the service industry turns more and more attention to offering men the sort of upscale, destination treatment that’s conventionally remained in the domain of women, shops like the Men’s Den both create and fill a demand. Guys can be just as particular about their looks (often more so) than many women, and there’s hardly a grooming service that the Men’s Den doesn’t offer to help them get the look they’re after.

In addition to the walk-in $15 express haircut, “we do hot towel shaves, straight-razor shaves, ‘mister-clean’ shaves for the bald heads,” says New. “We can do fades, we can do artwork in hair, back waxes, nose hair waxes, ear waxes, eyebrow cleanups, hot towels, even straight-razor back shaves.”

What’s the most popular item on such a long menu? Well, nearly everyone loves the scalp massage that comes with a basic shampoo. “That’s been the biggest hit here,” says New, who admits she most enjoys squaring up and shaping guys’ increasingly-prized facial hair.

“There are so many beards in Cullman, oh my gosh,” she says. “Guys, they love their beards. I’ll ask a guy sometimes, ‘What do you want to do with your hair? — and they’re like, ‘I don’t know, but my beard — that has to be just so.’ Beards are honestly my favorite thing. I feel like that’s my niche. And we have tons of products for beards also: beard oils, beard washes, and on and on.”

Between them, the staff at the Men’s Den has close to 50 years’ worth of experience in the business. New says she vets with high standards the new stylists she brings on board, looking beyond their license to see if they actually have the skills, and the passion, for doing this kind of custom work.

“Well, at a hair chain, they care if you have a license, but not necessarily if you can really cut hair,” she explains. “I make sure that the people I have on staff can cut men’s hair before they’re hired in. They have to show me that. I watch them do it; to see if they can cut; if they can fade. That’s how I’ve ended up with such a great group of people.”

Located at 116 4th Street Southwest in the heart of downtown Cullman (it’s across the street from Top of the Town restaurant), The Men’s Den is open from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. To learn more, just stop by — or give them a call at 256-735-4310.