Dee Dee’s Barbershop is one of the coolest new businesses in Portland. And finding it is a true adventure. As the website explains, while the official address is 16 Casco Street—just off Congress Street in the Arts District—you’ll actually need to walk up Shepley Street or Tolman Place.

It sits like a gleaming jewel at the edge of a parking lot: a yellow sign with an open garage door and excellent ‘70s and ‘80s rock tunes spilling out. Take a seat on the wraparound, mustard couch, pick up a Marvel comic, and you’ll feel transported to another era.

“I’ve always been very into the ‘70s,” explains owner Desiree Decker, aka Des, as she takes a seat. “This sofa, for example, is from the 1960s.”

Des has spent 13 years working in the barbering worlds of Colorado and Maine, building a loyal following of clients that will happily follow her down alleyways to get an excellent short haircut, straight razor head shave, or beard trim.

After attending barbering school in her home state of Colorado, Des spent eight years working in barbershops before moving to Portland five years ago. She rented chairs at Ethan Hunter Salon & Barber and The Blind Pig Barber Company. Then she became an entrepreneur.

“I never pictured myself having my own shop, but this January a friend and I decided to buy a bar; the sale fell through, but I got great experience writing business plans, so I shifted gears and decided to build this.”

She wanted a spot on the peninsula, and Clay Hardy of CORE brought her to this unique space.

“The garage door really caught my eye,” she says. “And it was the perfect square footage; my previous barbershops have all been cute and cozy.”

She named the shop Dee Dee’s as a play on her initials (D.D.) and because it speaks to her obsession with all things vintage. She also enlisted four other women with strong barbering chops and clientele to join her; they rent four of the five chairs.

“It has mid-century, diner-esque vibes to it,” she says of the space. “Dee Dee feels like a girl who would be behind the counter. Come on in and vibe out at Dee Dee’s,” she adds with a laugh. “Put your feet up and grab a cold drink out of the fridge.”

Learn more at www.deedeesbarbershop.com