Friday, July 18, 2025
Just weeks after winning a 2025 Long Island Choice Award as one of the region’s top barbershops, Anthony’s Trendz, in Island Park, was left in ruins after a pickup truck barreled through its storefront in the middle of the night on June 9.
Owner Anthony Virasammi, who has managed the shop since 2008, got a call at 1:30 a.m. that Monday from a longtime customer who happened to drive past the business. When Virasammi arrived after the hour-plus-long drive from his home in Coram, the front of the shop was unrecognizable.
“There were cops everywhere,” he said. “They told me it was a crime scene. The guy was drunk; he didn’t have a license. I found out later it wasn’t even his car. Four different IDs on him.”
The crash, which occurred at around 12:30 a.m., destroyed half of the building on Austin Boulevard. The east side of the shop — home to four barber stations, a nail technician station, mirrors, televisions and thousands of dollars’ worth of hairstyling tools — was leveled. Shards of glass, broken equipment and crumpled furniture littered the floor. The damage was so severe that the Town of Hempstead condemned the space, leaving Virasammi unable to begin repairs until his landlord, Raffaele Vissione returns from vacation this Saturday.
“I had no sleep that night,” he recounted. “I drove down, saw the wreckage, went back home and had to drive right back again. Nobody could get in there until the landlord comes back, according to the town.”
Anthony’s Trendz, which once housed a full-service team of eight barbers as well as nail technicians and estheticians, is now operating at a fraction of its capacity. The barbershop was uniquely designed, with two connected but distinct sides: one for walk-ins, the other for appointments. But the crash rendered one side unusable. During the downtime, four of the barbers sought work elsewhere to keep up with client demand — and when Virasammi called to let them know the shop was back up and running, they informed him they wouldn’t return.
“On top of losing half of my business, I lost half of my workers, and it’s been rough,” he said. “It’s only been a few weeks. I have months,” he added, referring to the time that it may take to make repairs and find more workers. “Who knows how long it’s going to take me to rebuild again?”
Virasammi had worked with the barbers for over a decade. Their sudden departure forced him to reconsider the future of his shop — and his role in rebuilding it. As of this week, just three chairs were active: Virasammi himself and two barbers. Walk-in traffic was slow.
“Some people think we’re closed,” he said. “The windows are still boarded up. You drive by and it doesn’t look open.”
This isn’t the first time Virasammi has faced adversity at Anthony’s Trendz. His journey to becoming a successful barbershop owner began when he was 21, and working full-time in a pharmacy while attending barber school in Manhattan.
Before coming to Island Park, he lived in Freeport and worked at Leon’s Barbershop, in Oceanside. Pondering where to open his own shop, he strategically chose Island Park because it was “a town away” from Ocean-side. After four years of training and working at Leon’s, Virasammi took a bold step and opened Trendz Barber Shop in Island Park in June 2008.
What started as a single-chair operation gradually expanded over 17 years into a thriving business offering haircuts, waxing and nail services. Virasammi has navigated numerous challenges over the course of his nearly two decades in the community, but he is now the father of three young children, a 2-year-old and 1-year-old twins, and the stakes are higher.
“I’m going from very busy to almost nothing,” he said. “I’m still blessed to still have one side running. If I rebuild that side, I’m going to spend so much money to rebuild it with almost no barbers. But I’ve been getting a lot of text messages, a lot of phone calls — ‘Hang in there, buddy,’ you know, ‘I’ll see you soon for a haircut.’”
His current lease obligates him to continue paying rent for both sides of the space for at least another year as he works to rebuild clientele. Virasammi is now considering subletting the damaged side of the building and focusing on the side that remains operational.
“They came to my house during Covid, when you couldn’t get a haircut, it was awesome of them,” Island Park resident Ian Pascoe wrote in a Facebook post.
Even in the post-crash chaos, Anthony’s Trendz continues to draw support. Customers have texted or called to check in. Some, redirected to former barbers, have returned, saying they would rather stay local.
“I have been going to Anthony Trendz for 13 years now for haircuts for my kids,” Nicole Joanne, of Island Park, wrote on Facebook. “The only place I trust 100 percent with my children. During Covid, Anthony came to my house and still took care of us. We have used every barber in that shop for cuts, but mainly book with Joe now. My kids love him. They aren’t just our barber guys, they are friends.”
Virasammi is prioritizing operational simplicity, considering options like maintaining just one chair to reduce management challenges.
“I don’t see myself running two barber shops again,” he said, adding that he hoped to create a sustainable business model that allows him to balance professional responsibilities with family life.
But, he said, he’s committed to continuing his work and serving the community, which has supported him since he was 21 and just getting started.
“People are asking every day if I’ll rebuild,” he said. “Right now I’m just focused on what I have. One day at a time. Trusting God. I have to do what I have to do. I survived the recession, I survived Superstorm Sandy, I survived Covid-19, and I’m going to survive this.”
