Just two weeks ago, Hyde Park Hair Salon was more hectic than usual. The streets were blocked off; SUVs carried secret service and cops followed behind. For then-Sen. Barack Obama, it was just time to get another haircut.

Hyde Park Hair Salon, 5234 S. Blackstone Ave., has been around since the 1920s, providing hair service to legends like Muhammad Ali, and now President-Elect Barack Obama, who has been going for 14 years, long before he was well-known.

Walking into the salon, a large poster of the shop’s previous location greets the clientele on one wall and a poster of Muhammad Ali on the back wall. Waiting for the next barber might not be so dreadful because the salon has a shoe shiner and if the latest issue of Ebony is not entertaining enough, two flat screens will be.

Owner and master barber Ishmael Alamin remembers walking by the salon when he was going to high school in Hyde Park. He always said to himself he would work there one day. After being there for 10 years, he took ownership.

It wasn’t too long ago that Alamin would see Obama walk in and wait in line like everyone else. Although he has never cut Obama’s hair, they always have a conversation about sports.

“There is definitely more interest in the place, and the fact that Obama comes here makes it a magnet,” he said. “People pull up and take a picture in front of the shop and drive off. Or they come in here because Obama gets his haircut here. The clientele has grown and will continue to once he wins the election.”

Out of the eight barbers who work at the salon, only one can say he has cut Obama’s hair for the past 14 years, a barber known as Zariff. Once people realized that Obama goes to the salon and that he is his barber, Zariff’s cell phone rings more than the salon’s.

He proudly gives away his business card displaying a picture of him cutting Obama’s hair to new customers and doesn’t hesitate when customers walk in wanting Obama’s $21 signature haircut.

“Medium length, taper on the sides and the back and a natural line,” Zariff said. “[People] have been here from Spain, China, South Korea, Poland, Russia, Chile and Iraq just to get a haircut at the same place Obama does.”

When Zariff became his barber, Obama was doing a lot of work for the community and the less fortunate, but many customers didn’t know who he was. During the past 20 years there, his previous clients have been doctors, lawyers, entertainers and sports stars, but not one of them has been as popular as Obama, he said.

“I’m very proud of him,” Zariff said. “When I first started cutting his hair, I had no idea he [would be] running for president, but I’m not surprised. He’s smart, humble and compassionate.”

Alamin recalls a recent Saturday when Obama showed up out of nowhere. He said it was crowded and loud, but once Obama walked in, everything went quiet until Obama said, “Hey everybody. How you doing?” People started telling their friends he was there, and when he walked out, a large crowd was waiting outside.

James Patrick, a retired high school principal from the South Side, has been a customer for 30 years and has met Obama at the salon a couple of times.

“I tell people that Obama has the same barber as me, and not that I have the same barber as Obama,” he said. “I voted for him the second day of early voting. All I know is that he’s going to be a great president.”

On election night, the salon hosted a party for their frequent clients. Two flat screens broadcasted CNN as the night went on. When they found out he had won, Alamin said the place went “insane.” He said people walking down the street walked in to see what was going on because the cheering was so loud.

“We had a party to celebrate his accomplishments,” Alamin said. “He already made history, and we definitely wanted to celebrate that.”