Rooted in a century of community, The Oliver Club offers a modern ritual of grooming defined by craftsmanship, connection, and refined hospitality.
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles
The Oliver Club
1917
In 1917, amid the cultural bustle of Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, a modest yet profound institution took shape. The Oliver Club was founded by Nellie G. Oliver, a dedicated schoolteacher with an uncommon vision to create a sanctuary where young Japanese American youths could find mentorship, discipline, and camaraderie through organized sport.
More than a club, it was a place of belonging in a time where places like it were rare.
Park County, Wyoming
Heart Mountain
1942
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, The Oliver Club became a heartbeat of its community. In an era defined by exclusion, it offered young men an arena to lead, to grow, and to express quiet pride. Athletic excellence, particularly in football and baseball, became the club’s language. Its true purpose lay in what it cultivated off the field: trust, tradition, and community.
In 1942, Executive Order 9066 swept across the West Coast, and with it, The Oliver Club was disbanded. Families were uprooted. Members were sent to concentration camps. Yet the spirit of the club refused to be extinguished. At Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming, former members continued to organize games, offer mentorship, and uphold the values they had once practiced freely. Within barbed wire and barracks, The Oliver Club’s soul endured.
Great-uncle of OCBS founder, Ets Yoshiyama and Babe Nomura
Black and white photograph of a vintage baseball game with players in uniforms, a batter swinging, a catcher on the ground, and an umpire standing nearby. Spectators watch from the bleachers in the background.
Black and white photo of a baseball game with players on the field, a batter stepping up to the plate, and spectators in the distance.
Los Angeles, California
The Olivers
1961
Nearly two decades later, in 1961, the legacy was rekindled. Ets Yoshiyama—club member and great-uncle to the barber shop’s founder—helped revive The Olivers, and preserve the club’s spirit. For many who had endured hardship and displacement, the club had been more than just sports. It was a place of shared struggle and strength, where lifelong bonds were forged in moments of trust and camaraderie.
They understood that those connections, once formed, bonded a future. Reimagined as a scholarship and mentorship initiative, the club offered returning members and their future families a renewed sense of belonging and a foundation for younger generations to build upon.
Arts District, Los Angeles
Oliver Club Barber Shop
2022
Today, The Oliver Club Barber Shop continues a century-long lineage, carried through stories, camaraderie, and the bonds of brotherhood. Hidden from sight, just steps from the original club, the shop honors its heritage through refinement. Here, grooming is ritual. Hospitality is quiet, personal, precise.
Guests of The Oliver Club don’t simply receive a service; they participate in a legacy. One of resilience and meticulous care. A history not shouted but felt in the stillness of a warm towel, the weight of craftsmanship, and the intentional pause that defines true hospitality.
