Adaptation
From clipper work to scissor-and-comb cuts, the shop learned with the neighbourhood.
Our Story
Built by craft. Shaped by community.
Peter Gowdie's path to Cut N Run began with family, necessity, and a steady hand for helping people feel good in the chair.
From Kingston to Kingston Road
A neighbourhood shop with deep roots.
Beach Metro Community News profiled Peter Gowdie in its Black Lives Here column, tracing his story from Kingston, Jamaica to Toronto, and eventually to the Kingston Road Village shop the community knows today.
Peter began cutting hair when he was young because regular haircuts were not always easy for his family to afford. Friends needed cuts too, and what started as a practical skill became a craft. His sister, a hairdresser, helped inspire the direction.
The Cut N Run name first took shape after time spent cutting hair outside a traditional salon setting. Peter later re-established the business on the Danforth in 1999 before moving to Kingston Road in 2008, where the team adapted, learned, and grew with the neighbourhood.
The same profile also speaks plainly about Peter's experiences with race, belonging, and the work of challenging old assumptions. That context matters here: Cut N Run is not only a place for haircuts. It is a place where people are welcomed, recognized, and given room to show up as themselves.
Source: Beach Metro Community NewsBelonging
The chair is personal. Every visit is meant to feel open, steady, and respectful.
Community
Cut N Run's story is tied to the Beaches, its families, and the people who keep coming back.