Mac and Milo’s (Image: CHS)
By Domenic Strazzabosco
A duo of Capitol Hill hair stylists are ready to set out on their own after building careers in the beauty industry’s mix of chain salons and rented chairs.
Alyssa “Aly Mac” McCowan and Milo McGhee are now ready to open their own three-chair studio on 15th Ave E, aptly named Mac and Milo’s Barbershop.
“I knew I always wanted to get up to the Hill for my business,” McGhee tells CHS. “I wanted to be in a part of the city where people actually live, not just the place where they come in and out of for work.”
“Capitol Hill was ideally where we wanted to stay,” McCowan said. “If you don’t stay within a certain mile radius of where you’re operating, you’ll probably lose a significant chunk of clientele, [especially] if a move is inconvenient.”
The close friends and longtime co-workers talked for years about opening a space together after they met at Squire Barbershop on 2nd Ave. Over the last few years, they’ve continued to work close by one another, both operating out of the ground floor of Salon Republic on Broadway.
CHS reported in 2021 on the end of the old Broadway Urban Outfitters as Mosaic Studios, a facilities management company that leased studios to salon and spa business owners, moved in. The nationwide Salon Republic company took over Mosaic in 2024.
McCowan and McGhee were ready to head out on their own.
McCowan in the old space on Broadway
McGhee described periodically scrolling through real estate listings until one day while eating at Hot Mama’s Pizza, when he came across the listing at 423 15th Ave E. It had been posted for less than a day, so he shot McCowan a text, and upon getting back to their salon chairs, she was ready — “Cool, so we’re doing Mack and Milo’s right?”
Mac and Milo’s is transforming the space that was vacated in late April this year by Casita International Gift Shop. They aim to start cutting hair as soon as September 1.
McCowan and McGhee will each operate out of the space, joined by a third stylist. They are excited to offer the clientele base they’ve established over the years a more communal, walk up and, overall, more unique space while still being physically accessible to the residents of Capitol Hill.
Physical proximity aside, McGhee said that moving in together and opening the collaborative Mac and Milo’s Barbershop gives the duo much more long-term stability. Previously, they operated independently, as Milo’s Barber Services and Mac’s Barber Co., and had to each take things year by year, dealing with leases and rent increases. With the new business, they can combine operations into one, merge existing client pools and operate from a more welcoming, personal space.
“It’s a very small space, but we want to be able to do more than just cut hair,” McCowan said.
With their own barbershop, they hope to promote community including hosting pop-up thrift markets or offering the space as a venue for slam poetry nights.
McCowan said that they also plan to offer industry pricing, meaning more affordable rates for people in the service industry.
Mac and Milo’s joins a mix of style providers on 15th including the neighborhood’s Rudy’s location which jumped across the street into new development and the street’s legendary “no appointments here” old school Tim’s Barber Shop. There will be many new heads to trim in coming years when the old QFC block is eventually redeveloped.
The two’s aesthetics are highly distinct and eclectic. Together, there’s a mix of accent walls, ornate art, American West imagery and house plants. For the new space, they’ve worked to mesh the styles together for a fun in-between.
McCowan described it as bright and fun, and like a ’70s California skate shop. McGhee described it as a combination of his color scheme — pinks, oranges, and yellows — meshed with her cleaner and aesthetically pleasing design styles.
“We found an even compromise where we both feel represented in the space,” he said.
Now that they have a place of their own, both McCowan and McGhee expressed excitement over their futures on the Hill. The two are eager to continue cutting hair for the diverse, prominent LGBTQ+ customer base that makes up Capitol Hill and continue providing haircuts in a space all their own.
You can visit the barbershop next week at 423 15th Ave E and book a haircut with Mac and Milo’s at macandmilos.com.
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