LOOKING BACK
For a decade now, Boyle Heights Beat’s youth journalists have reported on some of the neighborhood’s most outstanding businesses, institutions and individuals. In this recurring series, we’re revisiting our sources and updating some of those stories.
Seven years ago, Boyle Heights Beat learned of a local, specialty barbershop with an outspoken owner not afraid to call out issues facing the community, albeit being labeled as a gentrifier by some.
That label –as reported in a 2017 story– came from its unique ambience, from the services it offered, and from the average price The Cream Shop charged for a haircut. Twenty dollars for a haircut seemed outrageous for some at the time, but that’s largely become the norm nowadays due to inflation and rising business costs.
Though The Cream Shop’s prices have also gone up, the gentrification accusation has largely dissipated over the years and neighbors now recognize it as a bonafide Eastside business.
“We’re a family and community business through and through,” said founder and owner Lino Campos. “It took a lot of going out into the neighborhood I’ve called home for years, for people to realize that we’re just people just like them, chasing our dreams.”
The unique shop at 2045 E. César E. Chávez Avenue has persevered through thick and thin and has now been serving up some of the freshest cuts on the block for nearly a decade.
Campos was raised on the Eastside by a single mother, an experience he says taught him how to thrive even in difficult circumstances. It wasn’t until he was about to graduate from Roosevelt High School that he learned that he was born in Mexico and brought to the neighborhood at five months old.
“I was born into poverty, life had always been hard, but things got scary after that,” he said. “I didn’t know what resources were out there for people like me, I didn’t know where I was going to end up. That’s why I strive to help other people, especially people like me, because I know how hard and scary the struggle can be.”
Campos’ career in the field of barbering began during his early 20s when he was looking for a side gig and his wife, who has been a hairstylist since 18, inspired him to enter the field to make some extra money.
“We’re a family and community business through and through. It took a lot of going out into the neighborhood I’ve called home for years, for people to realize that we’re just people just like them, chasing our dreams.”
Lino Campos
In 2008, Campos lost his main job during the national financial crisis, finding himself struggling to support his family. That’s when what started out as a side gig blossomed into a passion for the craft of cutting hair, which he considers to be an art form where he can express himself.
Campos saved up money for three years, all while working as a licensed barber, to open up his own business and help his family persevere. The Cream Shop’s first site opened in Montebello in 2011, with its second site in Boyle Heights opening five years later.
The dream for the 47-year-old is to open more stores to become the first Chicano in the neighborhood to have a chain of barbershops. Both of his shops give back to their respective communities whenever there’s an opportunity to do so, at times offering sponsorships to little leagues and nonprofit organizations.
“Once you learn your survival skills at a younger age, struggles get easier to manage once you’re older because you’ve already been through it,” Campos said. “Let’s say one day we’re forced to close our business due to inflation because everything gets too expensive. I’m still not going to give up if that happens”.
“I used to sell oranges on the streets, I know how to survive and I could go back to doing that,” added Campos. “That’s one of the things that life has taught me through all of my struggles, that no matter what, if you fall you get back up again. You fall again, get up again.”
That hypothetical became a reality during the pandemic, when Campos was forced to close down both The Cream Shop locations for months.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I was losing it,” he recalled. “We had bills piling up that we needed to pay with no revenue coming in, so I struggled to keep the place open all while doing my best to support my wife and kids.”
“We were labeled non-essential and having the potential to spread Covid-19 to people, which just didn’t make sense. Our industry does our best when it comes to cleanliness, I do my best to keep everything sterile and clean.”
Once Campos was finally able to re-open, he was forced to restructure and move towards an appointments only system that has stuck through to this day at both of his locations.
Folks looking to see a full range of their services and products, as well as book an appointment, can do so online. Its offerings, a variety of traditional and modern services from barbers and cosmetologists, have expanded from what was highlighted in the 2017 story.
The most unique service now available is a speakeasy variant, which comes with a complimentary shot of alcohol for those who are of age. That’s on top of the brief back massage customers get at the end of every haircut.
The look of the Boyle Heights location has kept its original charm, featuring a predominantly red and black color-scheme with unique accents that have grown over the years. From old-fashioned paintings and posters to a retro arcade machine, funko pops and more, its unique aesthetic is one that really stands out. Oldies are the choice of music that fill this establishment, which got its name from Wu-Tang Clan’s 1993 song “C.R.E.A.M.”
In 2024, Campos still deals with the rising cost of maintaining a shop in the neighborhood, which has translated into a slightly-increased cost in each of its offerings. Even so, Campos intends to stay and expand, and one day pass along the business to one of his children.
“There’s a lot of care we put into every cut, and that’s something that is very intentional because that’s what our community deserves,” says Campos. “I’m happy with where we are, the fact that we’re still here shows that we’re doing it for the neighborhood, because it’s home.”
