At Dave’s Campus Barber Shop, the sound of buzzing clippers permeates the air, mixing with the droning voice of the sports announcer on ESPN’s “Around the Horn,” the 4 p.m. sports show playing in the background. A customer sits in one of two stainless steel and black leather barber chairs, ignoring the nimble fingers that are expertly clipping his hair, his eyes trained on the glowing television.

David Denzer, the owner of Dave’s, 509 E. Green St., is a professional barber who specializes in cutting men’s hair at a shop with old fashioned candy striped pole outside its window. In fact, the shop has a certain old fashioned kind of charm where the clientele is loyal, and the neighboring shop owners like to stop by for a chat, Denzer said.

Roger Karr, the owner of New Town Flowers, is one next door neighbor who stops in whenever business is slow.

Karr does not have to worry about missing his own customers and has worked out a clever way to tell whether or not anyone is in his shop.

“I can hear the phones ringing through the wall, or I can see through the barber shop mirrors if anyone comes in,” Karr said.

Karr and Denzer have also worked out a system of trade where Denzer gives Karr a haircut in exchange for flowers that Denzer gives to his wife.

For Karr, staying close with his neighbors has paid off, and he said he recommends Dave’s for anyone who mentions that they need a haircut. This has been helpful when business in Champaign County has been slow.

“Business has been very flat the last several months with the economy, the war, gas prices … the president,” Karr said with a chuckle.

Some of the hardships Karr has faced as the owner of a flower shop have not had the same effect on Denzer’s business.

“When the economy’s bad, people need job interviews, and when they need interviews, they need haircuts,” Denzer said smiling.

Denzer has also found that owning a business in a college town can be somewhat challenging when students leave for the summer. However, he said he has built up a strong client base where about half of his customers are students, and the other half consists of townspeople, professors and younger kids.

“It’s good to have that balance,” Denzer said. “That way you’re not so slammed at once, and then have nobody when the students leave.”

Geoff Parker, a software design engineer, is a regular client at Dave’s.

“I come here because I started coming here when I was a student. I love the campus, the atmosphere and I love how Dave cuts my hair,” Parker said as he sat grinning in the leather barber chair.

Although the clients are mostly men, women are not excluded from the barbershop.

However, Denzer does not really know how to style a woman’s hair, and said he thinks it’s wise for him to stick to what he knows the best — men’s hair.

“If a woman comes in here, she’ll walk out with a man’s haircut,” he said.

“But we will recommend salons to the women, and I think they appreciate it,” he added.

This positive attitude has given Denzer success that will enable him to continue to run his shop with a hint of old fashioned charm well into the future.