
Long a staple in the community, Pacific Beach Surf Shop looks a little different these days. The Mission Boulevard store held its grand reopening on Nov. 21 in an effort to be more community and environmentally friendly. “We just want to continue to be a vital part of Pacific Beach. Pacific Beach Surf Shop is an icon shop in San Diego,” owner Randy Strunk said. “It feels good to see it re-form itself once again into what is at the forefront of things to come.” Nearly 150 people came out to the reopening celebration, held in the shop’s new community room. Strunk’s vision for an events-based shop starts with this room equipped with a stage, where eight to nine events per year, ranging from concerts to film showings to various speaking engagements, will be held. The room will also periodically host art and surf art galleries. “We’re going to give people a reason to come in the store,” Strunk said. “It gives us a chance to be a little bit closer to the surf community and have people remember why we do have such a close-knit community.” Part of the re-model included adding an Action Sports Environmental Coalition Greenroom to the store. This new section of the store features only organic and sustainable clothing from brands such as eVocal, Satori Movement, Hippy Tree, Ando and Friends, Arbor and Levity. “Owning the shop, I just felt a responsibility to be a part of stuff like that,” Strunk said. Strunk himself is a local environmental activist, and he wanted PB Surf Shop to reflect his passions. Strunk is a member of Surfrider and volunteers in the community, going all the way back to his involvement with Surfers Tired of Pollution, an organization dedicated to protecting the ocean, started years ago by Donna Frye, now a city councilwoman. “As a human being I’ve been changing and growing and getting a lot more involved with the environmental side,” Strunk said. “I wanted this store to reflect more closely what my life is about.” The shop’s next major event will be a Christmas party on Dec. 19 from 4 to 7 p.m. Strunk hopes to see local families at the event. “We’re just hoping for a lot of families and a lot people in the surf communities,” Strunk said. “We want to bring a Christmas aloha spirit and just hang out and celebrate.”