NORTH HAMPTON -- "I love it here," said barber Nick Faro as he explained why he was moving his shop from its present location - as the sign says, "Just 1.8 miles south to 650 Lafayette, right next to Handy Dan's Deli." Summer business is good, he said, but the winter season just doesn't provide enough customers. "Like the Marines say, I just need a few good men," said Faro. "A lot of my summer customers say 'Thanks, Nick; see you in a year' and leave for the south."

On September 19, Faro will move into a completely new shop that has been renovated from a garage to a state-of-the-art barber shop. "It is funny that this building used to be a house, and my shop was the garage. I seem to be going that way again," he said. Faro feels that there are enough barbers south of High Street, but his new location will keep customers from having to drive through downtown traffic and searching for parking spaces. "Everyone says, there is just more business in Hampton," he remarked.

Faro, a native of Lawrence, Massachusetts, served his apprenticeship in Methuen, and worked at a two-man shop in Lawrence, until the Beatles came along with their long hair - and a two-man shop required only 1-1/2 barbers. "We all learned how to do the Beatle-type style and I moved on to Boston," Faro said. In his present customer mix - from toddler to senior citizen - he has mastered all of the young men's styles as well as the traditional cuts.

In addition to giving a stylish haircut, Faro can tell you about almost any major league baseball player or football player on every team, going back before he was born. You can also check the facts about the Celtics.... Oh, you say sports is not your bag; well, just ask about any jazz musician or any performer going back pre-big band era.

How can you beat a good hair cut and a stimulating conversation? Just see Nick, the barber!