Barbering is in Tim Sanchez’s blood. His grandfather Bob Sanchez cofounded Montecito Barbers with Jess Martinez in 1966 at its present location near the Coast Village Road roundabout. Tim’s father, Matt Sanchez, a former Eastside gang leader who turned his life around to help the wayward get a second chance, worked at the shop for nearly 25 years.
Early on, young Tim worked alongside them both — three generations of Sanchez men, cutting and shaving generations of steady customers — before taking the reins when his father passed away in 2012. While Bob is retired from the trade, Tim still gets primary-source nostalgia from Martinez, now 84, who comes in to cut hair on Wednesdays.
Working from the chair by the window, Tim and his deft clipper-over-comb technique and artfully efficient fades are admired by fellow barbers and appreciated by his clientele. Combine this refined skillset with straightforward pricing, long hours, sports on flat-screen TVs, and just enough chatter to keep the shop colorful with opinion and laughter, and there’s little wonder as to why it takes four chairs to handle a revolving door of walk-ins and appointments.