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Business & Tech

Heritage Opens New Surf Shop on Boardwalk

The West Avenue surf shop opened a new story right off the 14th Street beach.

For thirty years, has offered surf boards, skate boards, clothing, sandals, sunglasses and more at their West Avenue location, but now Heritage customers barely need to leave the beach to check out the store's selections: On Saturday, Heritage's new Boardwalk location on 14th Street held its grand opening.

"Basically what you're going to see is a miniature version of what we have here back on the avenue," said Heritage owner Jim Hennessy. "We fully plan on being a full service shop, but, of course, with the limited square footage we won't be able to carry the volume and selection we have back on the avenue."

The boardwalk location will have the capability for checking the inventory of the West Avenue location and ordering anything not stocked in the Boardwalk store. Employees will be delivering inventory back and forth as needed.

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Being just a few steps from the beach, Heritage's 14th Street location will also feature surfboard and paddleboard rentals—$25 per day for surfboards and $50 per day for paddleboards, but hourly and multi-day rates are also available.

Part of Hennessy's goal with the new shop is to introduce new products and styles not commonly found in the northeast. Last year, Heritage started with paddleboard lessons, and this year Hennessy is bringing in some new lines from California and what he calls "grassroots lines."

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"We brought two American made lines in this year," he said. "We're really proud of that and they're working...we're trying to do what we can, too, to help put people back to work."

On Saturday, at the store, Hennessy's son, Cory, was working with store manager Gabrielle Mulloy for the grand opening. With ideal weather, the boardwalk was busy and the store benefitted from the sunshine.

"We really couldn't have asked for a better weekend to open," said Cory Hennessy. "It worked out well."

Much of Hennessy's family was present at the store for the opening, and many of the employees, including Mulloy, have worked at the West Avenue location for years. That is part of Heritage's appeal, according to Cory.

"It's very personal, social, interactive," he said. "Customer loyalty is one of the biggest things we stress. They aren't just customers, they are family and friends."

Until Memorial Day, the store will be open from Friday to Sunday, 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. After the holiday, they will be open every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information or to schedule a rental, call 609-391-SURF.

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