Built on Craft.
Defined by Character.

Finley's didn't start as a concept. It started with a feeling…that something important had been lost.

In 2008, there was a growing group of men who felt displaced…caught between the barbershops they remembered and the places that had replaced them. The old neighborhood shops were disappearing, and what remained felt wrong in a different way…either over-polished salons that weren't built for men, or cheap haircut factories that treated grooming like a transaction.

But the foundation for Finley's was laid years earlier.

Darren Peterson, Founder and Brand President

In his early twenties, Darren was at the hospital with his family saying goodbye to his grandfather…the man whose photographs now hang above the mirrors at Finley's. He was as Texas as they come. A doctor in a Stetson, black boots kept polished without exception, and a presence that never needed to raise its voice. He carried the quiet authority of a man you don't forget. He smelled of leather, softened by the faintest hint of sweetness. To Darren, he was larger than life. His John Wayne.

After his grandfather passed, Darren went to his bedside to pay his respects. As a nurse gently pulled the sheet up to his chest, Darren noticed a razor and a can of shave cream resting nearby. The room was quiet. Still. He asked if his grandfather was about to be shaved. The nurse said yes…then paused and asked, "Would you like to do it?" Darren did.

In that moment, he gave his grandfather the last shave of his life.

"Men shave their entire lives. As much as we may rush through it or treat it as a chore, it's a quiet privilege…and a responsibility. It's one of the few rituals men return to again and again. Done properly, a shave asks you to slow down, to be present, to take care. It isn't something to get through. It's something to respect."
— Darren Peterson

That experience permanently changed how Darren understood men's grooming. It wasn't about appearance. It was about care. Presence. Respect. A ritual. A moment of dignity, done properly.

From then on, Darren became quietly obsessed with the shave…not as a service, but as an experience. Over the years, he experimented endlessly. Warm lather. Cool towels. Subtle scents that didn't announce themselves. Steel in the hand. Steam in the air. Razors no one truly needs, but every man remembers. He wasn't chasing excess. He was searching for something specific…the perfect shave.

Scott Finley and Darren Peterson, Founders

Years later, when Darren and his business partner Scott Finley couldn't find a barbershop that felt right, they decided to build one.

Scott understood the craft at its foundation — precision with the scissors, an eye for detail, and a feel for creating spaces where men felt at ease. Together, they opened the first Finley's in Lakeway, Texas in 2008. Six chairs. Six barbers. The low hum of conversation. No investors. No playbook. Just a belief that classic barbering still mattered, and that a barbershop should feel steady, comfortable, and earned.

Every detail mattered. The weight of the chair. The grain of the wood. The way the shop smelled when you walked in. The way the barbers carried themselves, and the way the customer was treated. Precision grooming, done properly, inside a space that felt distinctly Austin… relaxed, unpretentious, and rooted in community.

Finley's didn't grow because of a business plan. It grew because people came back. Fathers brought their sons, and those sons grew up and brought theirs.

That's the measure of Finley's.

Not trends. Not hype. Not scale for scale's sake.

Just craftsmanship, consistency, and the belief that when something is done with intention, it lasts.

Every haircut. Every shave. Every visit.

From that first shop to today, Finley's has grown. The original partnership with Scott has since evolved as he moved on to pursue new ventures, and Darren continues to lead the brand with a clear vision: protect what matters.

Today, Finley's operates as part of The Boardroom Salon family, a Dallas-based grooming company. This partnership brings additional resources and support while protecting the standards that made Finley's what it is. The training program Scott and Darren built remains in place. The barbers are held to the same expectations. The craft hasn't changed.

The services you've come to expect remain exactly the same. Finley's is still Finley's — rooted in tradition, built on care, and committed to doing things the right way.