Local Business Stories

  • Kwami Lambert from United Kutz on King Street in Downtown London

    Local Business Stories

    United Kutz: Uniting our community one haircut at a time

Kwami Lambert has been cutting hair ever since he came to London at 14 years old. We sat down with him to learn the story behind United Kutz Barbershop, a Downtown London business that has been uniting the community for the last 15 years.


On May 3rd 2007, Kwami Lambert celebrated his 28th birthday with an exciting present – the keys to his first brick and mortar shop at 147 King street. His father taught him that ‘you’ve got to do something that you love, because when you love what you do… that’s not work’. And Kwami has always loved getting a haircut. When he was younger he would save up his extra chore money to get his hair cut once a week. “I love what it did for me. My confidence would go through the roof and I love that feeling”. But it was all thanks to his aunt, who took him to buy a hair-cutting kit at Sherwood Forest Mall, that he started practising on himself and his two cousins – this planted the seed for United Kutz. 

Owner Kwami Lambert from United Kutz on King Street in Downtown London, Ontario cutting a customers hair
Kwami Lambert from United Kutz on King Street in Downtown London

The business of bringing people together

From running a barbershop out of his highschool locker room to owning two United Kutz locations in the London area (his second location on Trafalgar and Admiral), Kwami has always been in the business of bringing people together. “I wanted to open up something that I knew could bring the community together,” he says, “that is even why I called it United Kutz. I knew that even by cutting hair we could unite this community one haircut at a time”. Moving from Trinidad to Toronto at the age of 8, Kwami remembers going to get his hair cut with his mom only to realize they weren’t trained to cut Black hair. “I thought ‘How could someone live in Canada, call themselves a barber, and not be able to cut the hair of every Canadian?’ … That is what I am going to base my business on.”

As a teenager, Kwami felt like he needed to stick around London and find the good in the community, and later started United Kutz to “help bridge the gap between Black and white, Africans and Canadians”. Downtown London was the choice location for the shop. Dundas and Richmond was always the place to be growing up, Kwami says, and agrees it truly is the heart of the city: “I’ve always loved how downtown was the one place that brought all of London together – all the busses came there”. It also holds sentimental value. Kwami met the mother of his children, his high school sweetheart, at the McDonalds on Dundas and Richmond. He also worked his first job at Galleria Mall. “Downtown London made me feel like I was still in the city. It has that big city feel to it, but it’s also just small enough.” 

A barber from United Kutz on King Street in Downtown London, Ontario cutting a customers hair
United Kutz on King Street in Downtown London

United Kutz is built upon a vision of uniting the London community and motivating young people to do the same. Kwami feels he has successfully spread this through his platform. “You see the entire community everyday come through the barbershop; old white men in the morning talking about the war, business men on their way to the office, students from Western and Fanshawe, hockey moms, Black kids, women getting braids – you see the entire London community on a day to day basis. It is a reminder to me that I am doing the right thing”. Kwami wants young people to know that if you build something with the right attitude, it will be more than just a business. It will be a fraction of the community.

Our city as a whole, our community, our country, is going through something that we haven’t gone through in over a hundred years… Especially on the business front, it’s tough times that no business has ever gone through. So it is now more than ever that we need our people to work together. It’s very important that people within the city lean on each other and support each other and look out for each other.
- Kwami Lambert, United Kutz


Forest City first

Kwami doesn’t let customers feel like customers – he makes them feel like part of that community. “The way I created the shop, I want it to feel like a home. I chose red, white, and black because it represents Home. It’s the Raptors, its Canadian, its Trinidadian, its Fanshawe – it’s me in a nutshell and what I represent”. He believes it is important now more than ever that we show our strength as a city. “That is something huge, especially in Black culture, we always say ‘you gotta rep where you’re from’. You’re not nothing if you don’t have your city behind you,” Kwami says, “We gotta look out for each other – it has to be Forest City first.”
 

A barber from United Kutz on King Street in Downtown London, Ontario cutting a child's hair
United Kutz on King Street in Downtown London

“We have to show people, and show our kids, that we can all work together. You can be Conservative and I can be Liberal and we can still have dinner together, go to church together. We can disagree, but we can work on stuff together. That was my motivation to start the shop. Bringing good haircuts, community, and unity all together.”

We are happy to see United Kutz uniting not only our downtown community, but London as a whole – one haircut at a time.


For more information about United Kutz

Visit their Instagram Profile: @united_kutz_official
Address: 147 King St., London, ON

 

  • Author
    Downtown London

  • Category
    Personal Services

  • Date
    December 29, 2021

Share this post

Related Stories


  • Exterior store front view of  Grooves Records in London, Ontario

    Grooves Records: Something for every music fan

  • A female model posing outdoors with clothing from Hangar9 in  London, Ontario

    Hangar9: Family-owned and female operated

  • Owner Jonathon Bancroft-Snell  standing with his arms crossed surrounded by ceramics in his gallery located in London, Ontario

    Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery: A mecca for ceramic collectors

  • A large Happy Birthday ballon arrangement designed and created by Dashing Balloons from London, Ontario

    Dashing Balloons: Custom balloons for all occasions

  • Owner and master goldsmith Mario Chirico at a desk with several tools working on a piece of custom jewelry at Diamani Jewellers in London, Ontario

    Diamani Jewellers: A generational business

  • three women exercising at Hi-Ignition Fit Lab in London, Ontario

    Hi-Ignition Fit Lab: Elite boutique fitness

  • Owner Michael Gibson sitting with associate director Jennie Kraehling standing beside him in the Michael Gibson Gallery in London, Ontario

    Michael Gibson Gallery: Bringing global artists to local communities

  • Vanessa Willis and her husband, co-owners and operators of the Church Key Bistro-Pub in London, Ontario

    The Church Key Bistro-Pub: A home away from home

  • Owner Dan Hasson in Dan Hasson Clothier at 320 Dundas Street in Downtown London

    Dan Hasson Clothier: Menswear in Downtown London

  • Co-owners and operators Olha Prytkova and her husband of the Happiness Cafe with staff

    Happiness Cafe: Bringing happiness to London

  • A female model sitting on a brick wall wearing a dress from Elizabeth Noel located in London, Ontario

    Elizabeth Noel: A fashion staple of Downtown London

  • A pair of retro vintage purple Nike shoes with an orange and black cheetah print

    DugOut Vintage: The Generation of Sustainability

skyline view of the city of london, ontario

  • find it in london logoSubscribe and Support Local. Get the latest about Find it in London delivered to your inbox.