Joe Yanes with a client. Photo by Raven Jordan
Edit 11/30: A previous version of this article misspelled Joe Yanes’ last name as Yanez.
After 55 years cutting men’s hair in Lake Highlands, Joe Yanes considers many of his clients family.
For the longest, Yanes was just across the street, where the old Vick’s Cafeteria once stood, giving cuts to Dallas Cowboys players when they had practice here, local businessmen, and one of White Rock Stables’ late owners (Texas “Tex” Oddson Jr.).
“A lot of them moved out of the area. Jimmy Ray Smith still comes, very loyal, and I cut his hair,” he says.
Then Yanes pulls out Michael John Maurer’s obituary.
“His son is the head trainer for the Cowboys. I cut his hair for a lot of years.”
Now, he gives cuts at The Cutting Company on Ferndale Road, but one of his clients, David Henry, says he’s gotten cuts from him at four different locations.
“I know men who have been Joe’s clients since they were in junior high. He is a gentle, kind man with a large and loyal following in Lake Highlands,” Henry wrote in an email.
Over the years, many of his clients have grown from young boys getting their first haircut to dads bringing in their sons, and even grandsons. He has seen generations go by throughout his time in the neighborhood.
Take Henry, his son Connor, and his son’s twins— Wyatt and Walker— for example. Henry has been coming to Yanez since the 90s when Connor was a baby, as you can see in the photos below.
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- Joe Yanes, Connor as a child and Wyatt, right. Photo courtesy of David Henry
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- Joe Yanes and one of Connor’s sons. Photo courtesy of David Henry
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- Joe Yanes, center, David Henry, his son Connor and Connor’s sons, Wyatt and Walker. Photo courtesy of David Henry
Photos courtesy David Henry
Aside from cutting hair, Yanes loves a good game of soccer. Though he no longer plays on the North Texas men’s soccer team, his wife still plays for the women’s team and all four of his kids enjoy playing the sport, too.
“When I quit playing, she said, ‘Oh good, now you can take me to my games,’” he says. “I said, ‘That’s good, because my yard looks a lot better now.’”
Now 85, Yanes started his barber journey at the now closed Oak Cliff Barber College after moving from Southeast Texas. Now he’s attached to the Lake Highlands community.
“I’m from Southeast Texas, moved to Dallas and have been living here about 60 years. I love Dallas— it’s a good city. I couldn’t do without my friends, all my customers here. We’re brothers and sisters now. A lot of them were just little kids then, now they have families.”
You can find Yanes at the Cutting Company at 8519 Ferndale Road.
