Waterford — At the age of 14, Jeffrey Zapata began his career in barbering to help his family.

"A plastic bucket was my first chair," he said of his early years learning the trade by cutting the hair of his neighbors and family members in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

Today, the now 40-year-old owns half a salon and four barbershops, including his newest venture, JBS Barber Spa, which opened May 8 in the Crystal Mall in Waterford.

With the new shop, Zapata tries to bring experiences to men who are used to just a dry cut, offering washing, conditioning, styling and more. There are scalp treatments and facials, as well as shaves complete with hot towels and a straight razor, and customers can even add a facial mask. Services start at $30, while The Presidential package incorporates all of his services as well as a shoulder massage for $100.

During an interview this week, Zapata sat on a leather sofa wearing a crisp, white, button-up shirt and black vest in his shop, which is decorated in wood, rope and industrial fixtures. He pensively reflected on growing up in a poor neighborhood. “I see we don’t have nothing on the table. When I see my mom crying for, you know, we have to pay bills, and we have nothing in the fridge,” he said he knew he had to find a way to help.

He attributes his success today to his faith. “God please give me the opportunity,” he would pray while living and working in Santo Domingo.

But faith alone cannot explain it. 

His wife, Kendy, a childhood friend, had moved to the United States and already was a U.S. citizen when they married in 2007; after four long years going through the immigration process, he was able to join her in 2011 in New London, where he began working incessantly to support his family here and back in the Dominican Republic.

Friends told him to move to a bigger city than New London, but, he said, “the love that I feel here is exactly what I was looking for.”

When he came here, he said barbers were only open five days a week, and most closed by 5 o’clock. He took advantage of that by opening early, closing late and working nonstop. “I was working seven days a week straight for 3½ years,” he said, adding that within six months of his arrival, he had amassed close to 500 clients.

He was especially grateful to his bilingual clients because he relied on them to help him learn English — especially phrases he needed to cut hair — because when he arrived, he spoke almost none of that language.

He opened his first business, Jeffrey’s Barbershop, at 300 Elm St. in New London in 2014, the same year he became a U.S. citizen. He followed that in 2017 with a shop by the same name on Franklin Street in Norwich.

Zapata is constantly innovating and learning. He took a break from his first two barbershops in 2018 to spend a year in Las Vegas, Nevada, working at The Art of Shaving in Mandalay Bay resort. He wanted to learn techniques in both the profession and the industry, so he could apply them in his own businesses.

“I’m always looking — how can I do more?" he said, "How can I bring something different to the industry?”

Despite his long hours, he is dedicated to his community and gives back at every opportunity.

In 2021, and again this year, he was nominated for the Hometown Hero award at the Connecticut Barber Expo, the self-proclaimed largest international barber competition and expo in the world, at Mohegan Sun. This year he won for his extensive charitable community work.

After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, he organized a fund and supply drive that filled a 45-foot truck and raised $6,500 by offering haircuts in exchange for a monetary donation or an equivalent price donation of water or other needed supplies.

He also participates in fundraisers and events throughout the area using his skills to make a difference by giving free haircuts to students and community members in the New London area and in Norwich, where he and his family now live.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, while he was out of work when the state shut down barbershops and salons, he wanted to find a way to keep helping people.

He began making video tutorials for social media on how to cut hair properly. Eventually, he invited viewers to post their own videos of pandemic haircuts they were giving their family members, offering prizes to the videos that garnered the most “likes." He ended up giving away 12 professional hair clipper sets to people in four different countries, including four sets here in southeastern Connecticut.

“I came with nothing from the Dominican Republic," he said. "Everything that I have is because of the community supporting me. How can I say no.”

He says his new location is probably not his last but, for now, he is fully focused on establishing its clientele and providing exceptional service with the help of his wife and family, including their oldest child, Kenny Peña, 19, who manages the scheduling, sales, customer service and social media along with Zapata.

After spending years honing his skills and sacrificing time with his family to take advantage of work opportunities, and in spite of his relentless drive and work ethic, when asked to explain the success he has built, he simply shrugs. “God is in charge,” he said.