Beloved owner of Bluffton barbershop dies at 45: ‘Everybody knew Edgar’
At King of Kings Barbershop on May River Road, one seat remains empty.
Draped on the back of the chair is a blue jacket embroidered with the name “Edgar.” It belonged to Edgar Cuenca, the co-owner of King of Kings, who died Sunday at the age of 45. According to his brother and business partner, Cris, he left the jacket there Saturday evening.
Cuenca, born in Ecuador and raised in New York City, is also survived by his wife, Grisel Amaya, four daughters, son and mother.
According to his brother, Cuenca had been in business in Bluffton for eight or nine years, with the last three in his May River Road spot.
“We always used to joke, ‘You’re going to be the next mayor of Bluffton because everyone knows you,” Cris Cuenca said. “When we would go to Charleston, even in Atlanta, it was always like, ‘Edgar! Edgar!’ Everybody knew Edgar.”
Amaya said Cuenca was a great father and leaves much behind, including their infant son, who she said looks like his father.
Dagoberto Zuniga knew Edgar Cuenca well. The owner of Dago’s snacks on Pennington Drive in Bluffton, Zuniga met Cuenca through Cuenca’s mother, who attends the same church.
“I am speechless, but you have to carry on,” Zuniga said in Spanish. “And more than anything, I have the best memories, the best memories of him as a friend, as a brother. That is more than anything.”
Emerson Martinez, an insurance agent in Bluffton, knew Cuenca for more than 10 years. After clicking instantly over their shared identities as New Yorkers, the friends got to know each other well when Cuenca became Martinez’s barber. Martinez said Cuenca helped teach and mentor several future barbers, including some who went on to open shops in the area.
“He always had a good heart,” Martinez said. “You know I always remember him like that. Always smiling. When Edgar became a business owner here, it was a very positive thing in his life, and he was always treating people with respect, doesn’t matter who you are.”
For Cuenca’s funeral, scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Saul’s Funeral Home on Simmonsville Road, Martinez planned to shut down his office to pay respect.
“All those years that I cut my hair with him — he never charged me a penny, me personally,” Martinez said. “And that’s one of the things that really hurts, because he wasn’t about the money. He was more about the friendship.”
A GoFundMe has been established by the family to help pay for funeral costs.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 6:30 PM.
