CHESHIRE, Conn. -- Friendly Barbershop in Cheshire was open for four months and had a steady stream of loyal customers when the town told them they had to close their doors. Kareme Philippou is a natural at what he does, and his success at cutting hair in Meriden led to his new barbershop in Cheshire this past summer.

Things were going well inside of his shop on Maple Avenue until someone from the town showed up at his door.

Philippou said, “They showed up with a cease and desist order saying I had to move out.”

Philippou said he and his landlord received the OK to move in from a member of the town Planning and Zoning board at a meeting. He said he was told that the zoning for the area of Maple Avenue where he moved in was commercial.

Philippou said the town suddenly changed its mind and said the area was zoned for office properties only.

He then learned that a nearby business filed a complaint about the barbershop and that’s what lead to the town’s about-face.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News contacted Cheshire’s Town Planner several times on Monday to inform them about the story and to seek a comment or explanation about the decision but they did not respond.