Summer Abu Zahrah, who started her entrepreneurial career as a student employee in Crown Point Coffee, which she now owns, just added a family boutique across the street to her portfolio.
Six years after taking over Crown Point Coffee at 3510 Ingraham St., Abu Zahrah has united both corners via creation of City Beach Boutique at 3460 Ingraham St.
A Michigan expatriate, Abu Zahrah was working at the coffee shop while going through school and “dove in head-first” when offered an ownership opportunity by the previous proprietor.
“I was ready to branch out and open up my own business,” she said, noting she made a couple of changes to the business, adding breakfast sandwiches and eggs as well as lunch and salads to the mix. 
Then the women’s clothing boutique directly across the street became available. And Abu Zahrah, who’d been going to school for fashion, once again seized the opportunity.
“I took this (boutique) over and made it a little bit more family-friendly,” she said, adding she took the boutique over in June and remodeled and reopened it in July.
City Beach Boutique has something for everyone in the whole family — even kids —  as well as gifts for everyone. The boutique has a beach section with a great selection of board shorts, tanks, graphic T’s, Hawaiian shirts (from Hawaii) and hoodies for men.
Women will find unique accessories, everything from beachwear to evening attire, even something for work and athletic wear.
Popular brands available include Burnside, Bali Queen, Naked Zebra, Lila Clothing, NikiBiki, Kinetix and more. There are also hard-to-find items like soaps and lotions handmade in Hawaii plus sarongs, scarves, ladies’ hats and beach bags. 
The  boutique’s staff offers exemplary customer service, and a team of personal stylists is waiting to assist customers. 
“I want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable at City Beach Boutique,” said Abu Zahrah, who curates the store with locals in mind. “I have unique, high-quality merchandise at reasonable price points, combined with superior customer service: That’s our mission.” 
Abu Zahrah does lots of cross-promotion between her two businesses.
“We get a lot of tourists who come in from Paradise Point and during events that happen on the (Mission) bay regularly,” she said.
The product mix at the boutique includes lots of local crafters as well as handmade items imported for sale from the island of Bali.
Price points at City Beach Boutique range from $18 to $85.
“I want to keep it as affordable as possible,” said Abu Zahrah, noting her business hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays so that “people can stop by after work.”
Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “Saturdays are busy days,” said Abu Zahrah noting, “We often have trunk shows, or pop-up artists, right outside. We have lots of local artists and designers showcasing their work. It’s also kind of like a mini-farmers market on Saturdays.”
The boutique is closed on Sundays.
“We close on Sunday for sand, sun and sanity,” said Abu Zahrah.
Abu Zahrah said she’s also been active lobbying with the city to get some traffic-calming in to make the busy intersection safer there, improvements she’s been told are “in the budget” and in the works by the city.
To further serve the neighborhood, City Beach Boutique is now a UPS access point. Packages can be dropped off and picked up Mondays through Fridays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information, visit www.citybeachboutique.com or call (858) 230-7705.
 for store hours or to make an appointment.