Community raises $17,000 for Brighton barbershop after water main break floods business

As frigid temperatures wracked Massachusetts this week, one business owner in Brighton arrived at his storefront to find it flooded.

"I opened the door a bit, and when I unlocked it, about 4 inches of standing water came rushing out and soaked my feet," said Matt Charrette, the owner of Matt's Barber Shop. 

A frozen pipe burst in the unit above the shop, sending water cascading down and flooding the barbershop. The damage was extensive.

"The floors are completely soaked through, and the ceiling had completely collapsed onto our barber chairs," Charette said. "We lost all our tools and chairs and some artwork."

Charette said it is too early to begin rebuilding the shop because they have to wait for the space to fully dry out. In the meantime, he and his team are focused on cleanup.

"We're hoping to be open as soon as we can, but with something like this, you just don't know," he explained. 

Insurance is expected to cover part of the cost, but it was the community that came together to help cover the rest. 

"We've been able to raise $17,000 and a lot of that is going to go towards lost wages for my employees and hopefully a significant amount of the rebuild," he said. 

Charette said the outpouring of support has been encouraging during a difficult time.

"We gotta put it back together, hopefully we'll build it back stronger, and get back to doing what we do best, which is serve the community and take care of our customers," he said.

He is continuing to work on cleaning up the damage and said he hopes to have the shop up and running again in about a month.