Sean Farmer owner of ‘Beachfront Kites & Surreys’ is closing his shop on Sept. 30 marking an end to one of the longest running retail shops on the Embarcadero. Photo by Neil Farrell.
One of Morro Bay’s most colorful, and continuously operating waterfront shops is folding up and soaring away into the windy skies of memory.
The kite shop, 1001 Front St., was opened in 1984 or ‘85, recalls Sean Farmer, the shop’s second owner, by the late-Len Shockey.
“I worked for Len when I was in high school,” Farmer says while sitting behind the big counter inside the store.
Shockey was a cherubic, lanky fellow, for whom this reporter also worked while in college (1991), and before I got chained to a computer screen.
The job included blowing giant soap bubbles on the corner outside the store and of course, flying kites, in Shockey’s seemingly endless efforts to draw attention to and bring people into the store, and maybe have a little fun with them too.
Shockey started a number of kite shops under the “Kites Galore” moniker. At one time he had successful stores in Oceano, Pismo Beach, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo (at the old mall), but eventually sold them all but Morro Bay. He was still working the store when he died of complications from diabetes.
He was very proud that they were all still in business, years after he sold them. Those days have passed, as one by one the shops changed hands and eventually closed.
The Pismo store closed just recently, Farmer says. And on Sept. 30, “Beachfront Kites & Surreys” as the store is now called, will close too.
“I took over on Sept. 4, 1998,” Farmer says. “It was Labor Day Weekend.”
Back in those days the kite shop had risen to near landmark status, distinctive for dozens of windsocks and whirly-gigs adorning the front façade, which were put up and taken down daily.
The kite shop was also good for giving directions to lost tourists (as in “Turn left at the kite shop and go up into town…”).
“When Len got ill,” Farmer says, “Ricki [Len’s late wife] called me and we made a deal.” Farmer says he then met with the former property owners, who are also now gone, Dean and Bertha Tyler. (The Tylers, who owned and operated the Morro Bay Aquarium for about 50 years, lived in the big house on the bluff above the kite shop. After Bertha died the family sold the property to a man from Southern California.)
“They only asked that I change the name because Kites Galore, that was Len’s legacy,” Farmer said. “So, the shop was rebranded Farmer’s Kites & Surreys, and eventually changed to Beachfront Kites & Surreys, a play on the location at the corner of Beach and Front Streets, Farmer says.
When the Pismo shop closed, Farmer says, it became the eighth kite shop in California to close this year.
He’s seen a lot of changes to the business climate on the waterfront.
“The waterfront area used to be all family-owned businesses,” he explains. “That’s not true anymore. People are coming in from out of town and buying up the leases. They’re spending big money to buy property.”
When the Tylers’ family sold the Front Street property, Farmer says things changed. “The rent went up,” he says, “and they also started charging something called ‘common area maintenance fees.’ It was just another way to add to the bottom line. My wife and I ended up doing the maintenance.”
Business down there overall has changed. “We did good,” he says of the beginning of his tenure. “It’s not like it was previously, but we always made a living.”
The COVID pandemic hit them hard, as it did most small retail businesses trying to survive the extended closures. “COVID was tough times,” Farmer recalls, “but we got through it. But the last four years we’ve put more money in than gotten out.” He adds that they decided they couldn’t put any more into the business. “It’s time,” he says.
And the “tourist summer season” has shrunk, too. “Summers used to be three full months,” he says. “Now they’re shorter. We now get two months of good business and have to survive on that the rest of the year.”
Another hit came when the kite manufacturer, Trlby, closed. Trlby kites were colorful, diamond-shaped, 2-handle stunt kites, made of a specialty material. They were stackable with long tails, affordable and very popular.
Shockey and all the people who worked for him flew a Trlby 5-stack over the top of the building as a lure for customers. “Trlby went out of business,” Farmer says. “They were my favorite. I still own them.”
The kite shop under Shockey was also a pioneer in another area — renting bikes and surreys (pedal cars that seat up to four) by the hour. Shockey always said it took a lot of convincing to get the City to allow the pedal cars on the streets, but the bike lanes got painted onto Embarcadero and later the Harborwalk bike path was built, so the surreys have maintained their popularity.
He says the designers of the Harborwalk, and especially the turnaround spot by the beach, actually came down and measured his 4-seater surrey and used its turn radius to size the end of Harborwalk. He calls the Harborwalk “The smartest thing the City ever did.”
Farmer says people have suggested he should get electric bikes to rent, which seems to be the trend with bike rental businesses that have sprung up in recent years. Farmer asks “where’s the fun in that?”
Having families pile into the surreys together and explore the Embarcadero is more fun in his mind than zipping around on an electric bike.
“Those have brought more joy to families,” Farmer says. “The surreys are what’s kept us alive at this point.”
He adds that he is negotiating with someone to buy the surrey business, so they may yet remain. Meanwhile, he has a small fleet of pretty nice beach cruisers for sale, and everything in the store is discounted.
“We’re giving 20-percent off now on anything in the store,” Farmer says. “And 50% off for flags.” The goal is to sell everything before they lock up for the last time on Sept. 30, which is also Farmer’s birthday.
What’s been the best thing about owning the kite shop? “Seeing the smiling faces of the kids,” Farmer says. “And hearing them go ‘ooh’ and ‘aah.’”
The worst thing is how it’s ending. “The worst thing is having to close. I was hoping to retire here and see the kite shop go on and on. I always thought the kite shop was a permanent fixture in Morro Bay.”
He has another lingering issue, the Annual Morro Bay Kite Festival, which he and Lori put on with the help of volunteers. “I do hope the kite festival continues,” Farmer says, “that’s my baby.”
For now, they intend to hold a 2025 Kite Festival next spring, with the help of the Tourism Bureau and the City. He’s proud that the Kite Festival is family-oriented and has remained alcohol-free.
“I hope the Tourism Bureau and the City will step up and keep it going,” Farmer says. “I hope it keeps rolling for years to come.”
