private industry men s grooming founded frisco tx 2008 1 founder benjamin davis 2 headquarters dallas tx number of locations 4 area served usa key people benjamin davis co owner president emmitt smith co owner website thegentsplace.com the gents place is an ultra premium and membership based men s grooming and lifestyle club launched in frisco texas in 2008 . the combination barbershop spa and salon offers services including haircuts coloring shaves hand and foot repairs and shoe shine services . 3 contents 1 history 2 services and culture 3 accolades 4 references 5 external links history edit the gents place was founded by benjamin davis in 2008 with the opening of the first location in the dallas suburb of frisco texas . 1 4 davis also founded gentsdeals.com a men s buying club and digital marketing company male advertising network . 5 davis has stated that the idea for the gents place came to him because he disliked getting his hair cut and wanted to improve upon the experience . 5 6 to start he focused on building training and retaining a staff with high standards 6 and used a social media campaign to sign up over 5 000 clients . 2 in 2011 davis purchased an existing men s salon in leawood kansas turning it into a second gents place location . a third location was opened in the preston hollow neighborhood of dallas in 2012 . 4 5 by that time men s grooming was the fastest growing segment of the beauty industry . 4 as of 2016 there are three texas locations and a fourth in kansas . 6 7 in march 2016 the gents place received an undisclosed investment from elevated brands a holding company established by san antonio based massage therapy company massage heights to help expand the gents place to a nationwide franchise brand . 7 8 9 in may 2016 hall of fame nfl running back emmitt smith became co owner of the gents place alongside the company s founder and president ben davis . smith has been a member and has worked with the company since it was founded . after observing its potential to meet the growing need for men s luxury grooming he decided to make an investment in the company to assist with franchise growth and brand awareness . 9 10 11 12 that month davis announced a national franchise program with plans to open 150 franchise locations in the next five years in addition to several more corporate owned stores . 9 13 in september 2016 the gents place announced that they would be expanding to houston developing up to 10 clubs in the area . 14 services and culture edit the gents place provides hair services hot towel shaves waxing shoe shines and hand and foot repairs 15 16 and features complimentary bars and cigar smoking patios . 6 9 interior features include dark wood paneling leather barber chairs big lounge chairs and a red felt pool table in at least one of its locations . 5 16 the atmosphere is comparable to a country club or high end steakhouse . 6 the company offers monthly and yearly memberships with various service packages . 4 as of july 2016 the gents place has 2 300 members . 10 accolades edit the gents place was named 1 barber on the wfaa dallas a list in 2009 . 17 haute living called it one of the top five barbershops in dallas 18 and it has been featured in men s health as one of the manliest barbershops in america . 19 in 2014 esquire magazine said it offers one of the most luxurious shaves in america . 20 in december 2015 the gents place was named one of three winners of the ondeck barbara corcoran seal of approval contest . the company received a 10 000 cash prize and davis met with shark tank investor barbara corcoran in new york . 21 references edit a b sandlin eileen figure 2010 . startup start your own hair salon and day spa . entrepreneur press . p. 9 . isbn 1599183463 . a b knapp alex 7 may 2012 . the gents place puts a modern twist on barbering . forbes magazine . retrieved 31 january 2013 . men only salon and spa set to open in frisco . dallas business journal . 7 december 2008 . retrieved 31 january 2013 . a b c d steven r. thompson male grooming clubs are coming into fashion in dfw dallas business journal may 25 2012 . a b c d jean sheryl 30 may 2012 . dallas area entrepreneur makes over the barbershop . dallas morning news . retrieved 31 january 2013 . a b c d e the gents place succeeds by treating both clients and staff with respect american salon november 19 2015 . a b katie burke growth pushes massage heights to establish new holding company make first acquisition san antonio business journal march 9 2016 . beth ewen massage heights adds the gents place to stable franchise times march 2016 . http www.franchisetimes.com news march 2016 massage heights adds the gents place to stable a b c d korri kezar men s grooming company launches franchise program ; plans to build 150 units in 5 years dallas business journal june 24 2016 . a b jessica golden nfl legend emmitt smith shares his best business advice cnbc july 25 2016 . brandon sirrico nfl running back emmitt smith is now in skin care skincare.net july 27 2016 . nicholas sakelaris emmitt smith crain s 2016 . jade scipioni nfl legend emmitt smith rushes into the barbershop business fox business august 25 2016 . heather leighton emmitt smith s luxury men s lifestyle club the gents place is expanding to houston area suburbs houston chronicle september 9 2016 . chanel parks 8 salons that let guys get their groom on huffington post march 10 2015 . a b todd plummer why you should join a grooming club men s journal june 17 2014 . wfaa a list best barber north texas 2009 . retrieved 1 february 2013 . kent lauren 12 october 2012 . shave and a haircut . haute living . retrieved 1 february 2013 . cericola rachel . manliest barbershops in america . men s health magazine . retrieved 31 january 2013 . chadner navarro these are the most luxurious shaves in america esquire december 4 2014 . barbara corcoran meet the barbara corcoran seal of approval contest winners ondeck.com december 21 2015 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title the gents place & oldid 743419301 categories companies based in dallasprivately held companies based in texasamerican companies established in 20082008 establishments in texasbeauty salonsbarbersspas navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 9 october 2016 at 15 35 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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