Mission Surf, known as the “pearl” of Pacific Beach and the city\u2019s oldest surf shop in its original location, turned 50 this year.
\n“We\u2019re gatekeepers of this iconic surf shop in Pacific Beach,” said proprietor Ron Friedman, who co-owns the shop at 4320 Mission Blvd. along with wife Melody, a stand-up paddle board yoga instructor. “It used to be Bob\u2019s Mission Surf. Bob\u2019s still around. He has a stand-up paddle board shop.”
\nNoting Mission Surf has “changed hands a few times,” Friedman said there\u2019s a good reason why the shop has survived half a century.
\n“We\u2019re not a blow-out shop, not a tourist shop,” he said. “We have good products and we stand by them. We treat people right. That\u2019s kind of our motto.”
\nBoth Friedmans come from corporate backgrounds.
\n“I was on the brand side with Quiksilver,” Friedman said, noting he and his wife are happy to be doing surf retail now because “it fits our lifestyle.”
\nIt also doesn\u2019t hurt that their shop is located at a crossroads on Mission Boulevard, just steps from the beach.
\n“We\u2019re surrounded by Ralphs and Starbucks, restaurants and bars like PB Alehouse, Firehouse, Shore Club and the new Waterbar,” Friedman said. “We get a lot of people criss-crossing here.”
\nOf the active-sports retail trade, Friedman said, “It\u2019s very exciting, interesting.”
\nAdd challenging to the mix. Friedman said competition from online retail has forced them “to focus on private label-branded merchandise,” which, he said, “helps us celebrate the heritage and history of this place.”
\nThe bread and butter of Mission Surf, which also has vacation rentals upstairs, is equipment rentals and beach-boutique accessories.
\n“We focus on sunglasses, sandals, hats, backpacks, roller luggage, T-shirts and hoodies,” said Friedman noting he carries “premium brands that are quality, as opposed to cheap throwaways.”
\nSome of Friedman\u2019s stock of T-shirts, hats and Baja hoodies is handmade in Mexican villages.\u00a0
\nBrands carried at Mission Surf include Oakley, Ray-Ban, SPY, Olukai, Rainbow Sandals, Reef, Salty Crew, Sector 9 and Carver. It\u2019s a one-stop surf shop carrying everything from a bar of wax to the full kit: shades, flip flops, board shorts and a tank top.
\nSunscreen is another popular item sold by Mission Surf promoting two local brands, Headhunter and Sun Bum. “They\u2019re all-natural, reef-safe and the sunscreen stays on you in the water and protects you,” Friedman said.\u00a0
\nFriedman\u2019s clientele “runs the gamut” of ages, backgrounds and origins.
\n“We\u2019re basically on an island,” he said. “We\u2019re not in a mall. We\u2019re in a high-density tourist area, so we get people coming in for the impulse buy, flip flops, shades, or a trip memento or T-shirt. “But we still have a big local clientele. People who come in here to get their surf wax, a leash, ding repair kits, those types of items the same as they have for 50 years.” Mission Surf Where: 4320 Mission Blvd. Hours:?10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, open later in summer. Info: missionsurf.com, 858-483-8837.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mission Surf, known as the “pearl” of Pacific Beach and the city\u2019s oldest surf shop in its original location, turned 50 this year. “We\u2019re gatekeepers of this iconic surf shop in Pacific Beach,” said proprietor Ron Friedman, who co-owns the shop at 4320 Mission Blvd. along with wife Melody, a stand-up paddle board yoga instructor. […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":270744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11559","_seopress_titles_title":"Mission Surf rides 50 years of success in Pacific Beach","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11559,11551],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beach-bay-press","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}