‘He’s been liked and loved by so many’: Kingston, Ont. barber shop owner passes away

Kingston, Ont., barber shop owner Dino Bartzis has passed away.

Described as the patriarch of Dino’s Barber Shop, Bartzis died on Sunday afternoon surrounded by his family.

A post on the shop’s Facebook page states that it was one of his last wishes for the barber shop to remain open for the sake of the customers.

“The barber shop will stay open, so we can continue his legacy, what he has started after all these years,” says Barber Patricia Amaral.

“Dino was all about the barbershop, the community, the customers and us girls,” she continues. “He was our rock, he was the rock of the barbershop. And he will be missed, but we got to do it for him because that’s what he would want.”

A well-known man in the Kingston Greek community, Bartzis had been cutting hair for decades.

“Dino, he’s known by a lot of people and he’s been a barber in Kingston since 1969, 52 years. He started off downtown, moved to the Kingston Centre and then he’s been back downtown ever since,” says Amaral, who worked with Bartzis for more than 20 years.

“He’s been liked and loved by so many people in this community,” says Nicole Dyer, who has worked with Bartzis at Dino’s Barber Shop for 5 years.

The announcement of Bartzis’ passing was met online with more than 100 comments sending condolences to the Bartzis family.

“We’re all going to miss him regardless, and customers here in Kingston will definitely miss him because they’ve known him for so many years,” says Amaral.

She says that he would want to see the business continue, and his life be celebrated.

“Everybody smile, be happy. Because he wouldn’t want us to keep crying,” Amaral finishes.

Funeral arrangements will be announced in the days to come.