Retired barber Gabe Gonzales, 96, visits Bellarmine Barber Shop on Thursday, March 16, 2023, where the San Jose, Calif. business he opened 70 years ago is now safely in the hands of his daughter Esther Faria, left, and granddaughter, Stacey Gonzales, Esther’s niece. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
When Gabe Gonzales opened Bellarmine Barber Shop in 1953, he wasn’t thinking about starting a business that would last seven decades. He just wanted to stop working 16-hour days for another barber shop so he could spend more time with his young and growing family.
“My wife decided it. She said, ‘you’re not going to