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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPresentation - Musso Family 02/16/99 ILE 223:09 F1% 7149609159 Mario F. Musso 'Zj. 003 SHORE SHOP HISTORY The Shore Shop temporarily closed its doors Sunday February 14th after serving the community of Seal Beach for over 32 years. The Shore Shop's location on Seal Beach Blvd. will soon be the site of S new homes, after final approval next month from the California Coastal Commission. The Shore Shop is presently looking for a new location in Seal Beach. The Shore Shop was started in 1967 by Ellen Musso and her three daughters, Toni, Emmie, and Jamey. All three girls, while attending high school and college worked part-time. At this point in time, Ellen's husband, Frank, was in the terminal stages of emphysema; and Ellen knew she had to come up with a financial means to provide for herself and her children's future education. So with S5000, no retail experience, but with lots of sweat, toil, and prayer, she opened the Shore Shop in a 1000 square foot store located between Norm's Bait and Bay Liquor on PCH and Seal Beach Blvd. Starting primarily with off-price women's swimwear and sportswear, product lines quickly expanded to meet the needs of the entire community. At this time, the Shore Shop was one of the few discount sportswear stores in Orange County which served the entire family with name brand merchandise. This fact along with the parallel growth of the families in Seal Beach contributed to the rapid success and growth of the Shore Shop over the next 20 years. In 1972, the Musso Family purchased the Bay Motel on Seal Beach Blvd from the Taylor Family and convened the motel into a small shopping center, consisting of the Shore Shop in the 3500 square foot gutted duplex at the front of the property. The remainder of the outer peripheral motel units were occupied by small retail stores run by local Seal Beach families: Villager Shoes was started by the Crunk Family, Kid's Korner was run by the Campbells, The Breadboard Deli was created by the Tebbins and the Gift Store was owned by the Browns. Shore Village had it's Grand Opening in 1973, with the look of an old western town. Each of these businesses flourished over this period of time. PA gicluiL 02'16'99 T1'E 23'.08 FAX 7149609139 Mario F. Mosso 0002 In 1974. Ellen's husband Frank passed away, which necessitated the return of Ellen's son Mario to Seal Beach. Mario temporarily left a teaching and research position at Vanderbilt University to help manage this rapidly growing retail business. This temporary relocation has provided Mario with a challenging and rewarding business career in Seal Beach for over 25 years. Ellen's daughter Emmie Musso Mobley also rejoined the Shore Shop after graduating from UC Davis and workng two years with McGaw Pharmaceuticals. Emmie managed Villager Shoes and oversaw the shoe concessions in all three stores for more than 15 years. Emmie's son Matt today can be found in the Shore Shop shoe department during the summer months. The Shore Shop is truly a family affair. Soon the Shore Shop would out-grow its facility. In 1979, the Shore Shop moved into a new 8000 square foot, two story building which was designed and built by local architect Mario Rossi. For the next 12 years, The Shore Shop would show tremendous growth. There were 20 part and full time employees, mostly local Seal Beach college students and mothers. Klan Payne, who works today as the Shore Shop's comptroller, started working 29 years ago while her children were in school. In 1979, Tom Stimmler came on board to manage the men's department, which he still does today. Over the years the Shore Shop had expanded into additional locations in Huntington Beach and Irvine. Jamey Musso Bender started and managed the Huntington Beach Store in the Seacliff Shopping center for more than 15 years. With the retirement of Ellen in 1989, Jamey took over the management of the women's departments in Seal Beach. In retrospect, one can see that the history of the Shore Shop was very much tied to the growth and transformation of the city of Seal Beach from a small and quaint beach town to an exclusive residential family community. The Shore Shop has had over the years more than 300 employees, mostly residents of Seal Beach and neighboring Long Beach, who have contributed to its success and growth. Revenues from the Shore Shop subsidized many a college education of past and present employees. There are so very many personal and professional success stories from past Shore Shop alumnae. What started out as one women's desperate need to provide for her family became a community institution reflecting the values and principles of our town.