Barber shop opens in Enchanted Hills with glitz and glamour

RIO RANCHO — There’s a new barber shop next to Ma’s Tea House in Enchanted Hills, and when people walk in, it’ll feel like they’re walking into a movie studio.

Robert Apodaca head barber and co-owner with Ma’s Tea House owner, Lorenzo Trujillo celebrated Studio 505 Barbershop’s opening July 2 despite being open for about a month.

“He has two successful businesses. When he confronted me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do something?’ I said absolutely. If it would have been anybody else, I just wouldn’t have the energy to,” Apodaca said, referring to Trujillo.

Aside from collaborating on the barber shop, Apodaca and Trujillo are great friends. “I’ve known him for a long time. He coached my daughter and she works next door for him. He’s just such a great guy,” Apodaca said.

Trujillo had similar sentiments for Apodaca, whom he said has been an inspiration to him in giving back to the veteran community. Apodaca, a veteran himself, said he organizes motorcycle events to raise funds for local veterans. “It’s just a relationship that will last forever,” Trujillo said.

Trujillo also brought the traditional car meet to celebrate, which he did for his opening and Veteran’s Day.

“The car scene has gotten a bad rep, and it’s slowly getting better and better. Any opportunity that I can to bring together the cars in front of the public, everyone will understand what it is to be a community,” Trujillo said.

He designed the shop’s look and helped put it together.

“I came up with Studio 505. We wanted to mimic it after Studio 54. It was supposed to be the white and gold theme how Studio 54 was, to take it back into the ‘70s,” Apodaca said.

As one walks in, they are met with a picture of white marble striped with gold. The floor sports a huge logo of the shop name. There are eight barber chairs on either side of the shop and additional rooms for other services.

The shop’s staff are also of diverse background.

“We just hired some really talented up-and-coming young people. Nowadays, we need that the young people coming here and doing that. We have this guy who’s a student barber, and he just won second place at his first-ever competition,” he said.