Small businesses in Colorado come in many shapes and sizes, all of them taking a great deal of work and a great deal of pride in what they do. One small business, based out of Greeley, is not only helping people with their appearance, but their communities, as well.

There's no question that when you drive around any larger city in Colorado, that you're going to see more than a few barbershops. They've become more and more popular over the last few years; they're easy to start and when you get a regular base of customers, you can become very successful. On great example of success comes form Greeley.

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While we've all seen many locations of chain barbershops/salons such as Great Clips, Cost Cutters and Floyd's 99, you'll be hard-pressed to find more than one location of an independent shop around Northern Colorado. That's one of the reasons that Hugos stands out: Not only does Hugo Corral have one shop, as of the summer of 2025, he has three.

Personally, I'm a big fan, as I think we all are, of people who set out to follow their dreams and those dreams become a successful reality. That's the story of Hugo Corral: He became inspired to become a barber at a young age, because his babysitter ran a salon; in 2010 he opened his own salon [barbershop] on 11th Avenue in Greeley. In 2019, he opened his second spot in Bear Paw at Centerplace, in west Greeley.

Hugos in Greeley
Hugos Barbershop via Facebook
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Hugo made the news in 2014, when he put his foot down when it came to customers coming in smelling of pot, saying that, "if you reek of pot, you're not getting a cut." It's one of the ways he contributes to the Northern Colorado community. Another, his mobile studio, getting out into the community to help people look and feel better.

In the summer of 2025, Hugo expanded outside of Greeley to Windsor, in the quickly-developing area at the corner of Highway 257 and Highway 392 (Main Street.) In that shopping area you'll find national chains such as Freddy's, Chicken Salad Chic and Firehouse Subs; you'll also find local barber entrepreneur Hugo Corral's latest location.

Hugos in Windsor
TSM/Dave Jensen
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READ MORE: Windsor's First Brewery Makes Big Changes

The way I look at it, is that Hugo not only wants to succeed himself, but he wants others to "win" as well: He can't run all these shops alone, he needs the help of others, who in turn succeed; the customers win, as well.

MORE WINDSOR - A Look Inside Esh's Market, Near Hugos

Did you know that Esh's donates over 300,000 pounds of groceries to local charities every year? It gives you added respect for a family-owned operation, helping the community in many ways.

Gallery Credit: Dave Jensen

MORE WINDSOR - Popular Colorado Pizza Joint Chooses Windsor for 3rd Location

One of the best pizza chains in Colorado got its start in Longmont, and after a short time, they gained a lot of fans. More fans, means needing more locations.

Gallery Credit: Dave Jensen

 

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