Freshly-minted entrepreneur Randall Engstrom has opened a new eco-friendly business, Randall’s Sandals, in north Pacific Beach.
Engstrom has lived and worked in PB for 11 years at the WaveHouse and other local institutions. Feeling it was important to provide people “the chance to consume products that do not negatively affect the world we live in,” he’s entered the beach retail market. He held a ribbon cutting for his new shop at 955 Turquoise St. on June 1.
Engstrom characterizes his inventory as eco-friendly/charitable beach foot fashion.
“I’ve always had a business mind, a creative mind,” he noted, adding “I began to see a bigger need out there, a need for resale to go more charitable. It’s all about giving back and making the world a better place.”
Engstrom said Randall’s Sandals is “the first brick-and-mortar store whose entire platform is based around helping the environment and giving to charities, locally and globally.”
Sandal and apparel lines presently carried at Randall’s include Nomadic state of mind, SoleRebels, Sseko, Blenders, Sebago/catepillar, Team Phun, Native, Scott Hawaii, Freewaters, Rainbow, Seedless, Polynesian Underground and Olu’Kai, with more to come.
Engstrom noted Randall’s will offer the community the chance to donate and recycle old shoes and sandals, while getting discounted prices on his available stock. He’s even envisioning actually making “beach calls” to retrieve worn or damaged sandals and replace them with his discounted recycled footwear.
“My goal is to have my guests repeatedly return to my brick-and-mortar location and to keep my concept fresh, exciting and always on the cutting edge,” he said.
Sara Berns, executive director of Discover PB, the beach community’s Business Improvement District (BID), was on hand for Randall’s Sandals ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Berns praised Randall’s for the company’s civic mindedness, noting “We like to see any resale, any small retail.”
Discussing North PB, Berns said the neighborhood is less touristy and “definitely more local here than it is down on Garnet.”
Asked if more PB businesses are becoming eco-friendly like Randall’s, Berns replied,”We’ve definitely seen a trend in that direction. More and more, certain types of businesses are selling products that are recyclable or biodegradable, like composting. We’re trying to be an eco-district community.”
In 2014, PB opted to turn the community into an eco-district. An eco-district is a long-range plan that incorporates methods aimed at making the area more environmentally sustainable and economically viable.
Engstrom said he intends to “just keep moving forward one step at time. It’s not about me. It’s about the community. As long as I keep that focus, I know we can be successful.” Randall’s Sandals
Where: 955 Turquoise St.
Hours: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Info: Call 619-241-6138 or visit Randall’s Sandals on Facebook.