For 86 years, College Barber Shop has stood on the corner of State and Lake Street. Now, owner Larry Cobb is saying goodbye.

Cobb cited a spike in the building’s rent cost.

“Yeah, it’s about money,” Cobb said. “But they’re nice. They’ve been good to me.”

The owners of the building, the Osborne family, realized they could get more money for the location, Cobb said, and may also be planning on revamping the corner with a new business.

The shop, founded in 1928, has seen three owners in its time. Fred Lee started the business, then Don Fine took over in 1969. Cobb started cutting hair at the shop in October of 1978, and he and Kevin Conlin became co-owners in 2007.

Through the years, College Barber has had a few noteworthy customers, including football player Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch and University of Wisconsin basketball coach Bo Ryan. The most notable, Cobb said, was when they got a call from the governor’s office asking for an opening so that former Gov. Lee Dreyfus could get his hair cut by Fine.

Fine hired Cobb 36 years ago, and the two have developed a strong friendship in their time together. One of Fine’s concerns was that Cobb would not be around to cut his hair after the shop closed.

“He said, ‘who’s going to cut my hair?,’ and I said, ‘don’t worry, I’ll come to your house and trim it for you,’” Cobb said. “Don’s an easy haircut. He doesn’t have that much hair on top.”

Much of the shop’s popularity comes from Fine’s work. Cobb said people know the shop because they know Fine and the business he built in his 61 years of work.

Cobb said he also thinks the old-fashioned style of the shop has been a big reason it has become a feature of State Street.

“I think it is kind of a landmark. A lot of people really like coming down here. They like the old rustic look, like the old barber chairs from 1949,” Cobb said. “People kind of appreciate the older, nostalgic atmosphere I guess.”

He said he thinks one of the current employees may be looking to open a new barber shop on Gilman Street in a month or so, though he is not sure if the College Barber Shop name would live on. However, Cobb said he was even asked to cut hair a few times a week at the new location.

After the Wisconsin State Journal ran a story about the shop closing, Cobb said he received calls from several landlords offering new locations, but again, the rent was too high.

“It’s triple what I’m paying,” Cobb said. “We’d have to cut a lot of hair to make ends meet.”

As for the rest of the employees, Cobb said most of them have found new jobs elsewhere, some at other local shops like Stadium Barbers. Cobb sees himself picking up another job too, possibly driving handicap vehicles for people with disabilities for a hospice care program, he said.

College Barber Shop will be open until noon Saturday, but the send-off party for Cobb and the rest of the barbers will likely be Friday.

“I think we’re all going to go over to the Kollege Klub and have a beer or two, maybe three,” Cobb said. “It’s been a good run, with a few good stories to tell and a lot of good memories.”