When he finally threw in the towel, the scissors, and his Los Altos barber-shop
razor last weekend, 63 year-old Louie Piro walked away a millionaire.
Not bad for a haircutter, but then Piro has - along with Al Galedrige, the
shop's founder and Louie's partner of 46 years - catered to some of Silicon
Valley's most prominent executives and profited handsomely by it
"I think Louie has been referred to as the Warren Buffett of Main Street,"
said Bob Puette, a longtime patron and CEO of Centigram Communications Corp.
"His (Buffett's) whole philosophy is to buy great companies and hold onto
the stock And that's exactly what Louie has done."
And while Piro has done exceedingly well paying heed to investment tips offered
by his customers, his retirement marks the end of both an era and a unique
partnership to a legion of loyal customers. The 51-year-old Al's Barber Shop
on Main Street is being torn down. Galedrige, 73, will continue the tradition
alone when a new Al's opens behind the original building this fall.
"This is my first day working without Louie in 46 years," Galedrige said
Tuesday, from his temporary headquarters, a beauty shop a few doors down
the street. 'I didn't hear even one dirty joke all day."
Customers were still mourning the loss.
"It was a Norman Rockwell time capsule," said Fred Gibbons, founder of Software
Publishing Corp., and a loyal barber shop customer for the past 10 years.
"It's sort of one of the last of the original real man's barber shops," said
Bill Krause, former chairmanr and CEO of 3Com. "No fancy stuff. is, Plain
chairs. The same pictures on the walls. I think they painted it once or twice.
No frills. Just a good hair cut for a good value."
