Dynamite!

Leland Avenue received an explosive new business as TNT “Mad Cuts and Beauty” opened their doors last month at 91 Leland Avenue. While the name and location might be new, the full-service barbershop and salon is the latest venture from co-owners Tavis Landry and Tiffani Reid who previously owned DOB “Definitions of Beauty” on San Bruno Avenue. The two licensed hair care specialists are now open for business in Visitacion Valley offering hair care services to men and women including specialty designs and razor shaves for men.

For Tavis Landry, the opening of TNT is a culmination of an entrepreneurial journey that has come full circle since he started cutting hair at age 12. After getting his license in 1994, Tavis got his opportunity when local barber JB rented him a chair out of The Shop – now located at 160A Leland Avenue. It was under the tutelage of JB that Tavis perfected the craft, yet he began bouncing around from barbershop to barbershop when he was unable to find a good space of his own in Visitacion Valley. After a few years of cutting hair with Tiffani on San Bruno Avenue, Tavis was contacted by an old friend and client from his days at The Shop in 1995 - Hank Ropati (see Leland Avenue Gets Down to Baysics, February 2011). With Hank's retail store 'Down to Baysics' opening up at 93 Leland Ave., Tavis saw an opportunity to open his barbershop at the available storefront next door at 91 Leland Ave. Not only was this a chance to open up his own shop next to his longtime friend, it was an opportunity for business partner Tiffani Reid who grew up on Campbell Avenue to work as a beautician in her neighborhood.

Tavis loves the neighborhood; citing the good elements and people he remembers since 1994, including one of his old favorite stores – the Visitacion Valley Pharmacy (100 Leland Avenue) who are still around as well as the new physical upgrades he sees in along Leland Ave. and surrounding homes. He sees the neighborhood, “at a threshold where it's going to blow up, it feels good like there is a lot of growth.” Since opening the doors at 91 Leland Ave. in early February, Tavis tries to view his neighbors at 'Down to Baysics' next door as partners in business - constantly referring over customers to one another. TNT will be adding a third barber in the near future as they work to regain their customer base from San Bruno Avenue back onto Leland Avenue. One thing is for sure - it feels great to be apart of positive growth.