Retail Roundup

Catherine Eberhard

Summer has nearly reached its end, but there are still a few weeks

left to get outside, enjoy the sunshine and take part in some fun outdoor

activities. Summer sports to participate in around Huntington Beach

include biking, rollerblading, surfing, kayaking and kite flying. There

are several local businesses to provide you with everything you’d need

for these leisurely activities so you can enjoy the warm weather and

refreshing ocean water.

If you’d like to spend one of your last summer days at the beach,

Zack’s Gifts and Beach Rentals, located right by the sand in Pier Plaza,

has everything you’d ever want for a fun filled day.

In business for the past 12 years, Zack’s sells towels, swimsuits,

sunglasses, wetsuits, flippers, swim goggles, flotation devices, beach

chairs and sand buckets so you can have a great day in the sand and surf.

Frisbees, Smashball and other beach games are a wonderful way to get

active on the shore.

Surfboards and boogie boards are available for rent so you can attempt

to ride our famous Huntington Beach waves. Inline skates, scooters and

bikes are for rent by the hour or by the day, for exploring the miles of

paved beach trails and getting some great exercise. Bicycles with child

seats on the back, running strollers and enclosed child trailers to be

attached to the back of a bike are perfect for families with small

children. Tandem bikes are a unique way for couples to enjoy a beach ride

together.

You’ll be sure to work up an appetite biking on the trails or surfing

in the waves. Next door to the gifts and beach rentals, you’ll find

Zack’s Cafe, which has a full menu of beach food that includes burgers,

hot dogs, sandwiches, Greek and Caesar salads and even falafels.

Open all year, Zack’s Pier Plaza Cafe, Gifts and Beach Rentals is at

405 Pacific Coast Highway. For more information, call (714) 536-0215.

Another great family beach activity is kite flying. The Kite

Connection advertises itself as “Your source for kites, scooters and all

things cool.” They have a great location on the Huntington Beach Pier.

Owner Dave Shenkman, 34, started the company out of his parent’s home

at age 17 after he got hooked on the sport of stunt kite flying. A

Huntington Beach resident for his entire life, Shenkman has owned his

kite store at the beach for the past 10 years and spent the past four and

a half years at his pier location. Since moving his business to the pier,

he said he’s experienced a 10-15% increase in sales and a large number of

new customers.

Shenkman earned his bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology and spent

nine months on a backpacking trip around the world through 32 different

countries, but he’s always returned to his kite business. He claims

running his shop is “the best job in the world.” Shenkman used to fly

sport kites on the professional circuit where they fly kites to music and

perform a routine with stunts scored by judges.

The Kite Connection not only offers a wide variety of kites, but also

has an array of flags, spinners and scooters on sale. It is a very

popular thing these days to have a flag flying out front of your home.

Shenkman says that his two custom-made Huntington Beach Surf City flags

are big sellers. The number one selling home flag in the country is a

cute black and white cutout cat hanging from its paws. Besides various

animals, there are also holiday-themed flags, sports, flowers and

children’s flags with cartoon characters.

Spinners, objects of various design that catch the wind and twirl, are

another popular item at the Kite Connection. They can be mounted on top

of your house or in your backyard garden or patio for decoration.

Spinners come in several different designs and right now the dolphin

spinner, which is made from an extremely fade-resistant fabric called

Solarmax, is a big hit.

Free sport kite lessons are available courtesy of Dave Shenkman and

The Kite Connection from 2 to 4 p.m. every Saturday. Simply call at least

a day ahead to sign-up and they’ll provide the kites and teach you how to

maneuver them.

For a view of some of the inventory at The Kite Connection, you can

log on to o7 https://www.kiteconnection.comf7 and even purchase kites,

spinners, flags, or scooters online. You can browse weekly specials with

full-color pictures of each item and free shipping anywhere in the U.S.

is included on all orders over $100.

Concerning his business on the pier and online, Shenkman proudly

boasts, “I have always tried to offer the highest quality of products at

extremely low prices, world class service and honest advice.”

More information on The Kite Connection can be found by calling (714)

536-3630.

If you want to enjoy the ocean, but don’t plan on getting wet, a great

summer sport for you might be kayaking. Malibu Ocean Sports, at 16910

Pacific Coast Highway on the waters of Huntington Harbour, has kayak

rentals and sales.

For $8 an hour or $35 for the whole day you can rent your own kayak

and explore the peaceful waters of the Harbour. Tandem kayaks, which seat

two people and are great for a child and parent, run slightly more at $14

an hour. Malibu Ocean Sports offers a special where if you rent two

hours, you always get a free additional half hour. Life jackets are

always required to be on board for safety.

Owner Sean Caples, 36, has only had this location for about a year,

but his first location in Malibu has been going strong for the past seven

years. Besides renting kayaks, Caples designs his own styles and models

of kayaks and even manufactures them in a warehouse in the back of his

store. That way he is able to sell new and used kayaks to the public at

wholesale prices.Caples always includes a full warranty and he’ll repair

or replace a kayak you purchase from him even if you somehow manage to

damage it yourself. The kayaks he manufactures and sells are suitable for

the thrill of high performance action or the serenity of calm water

exploration. He claims “Our kayaks are stable and safe and they suit any

paddling environment and paddling ability.”

A great program Caples offers is his “rent to own” program where 100%

of every rental is applied toward ownership of a kayak. So if you rent

frequently, you will eventually own your kayak outright. If you find

yourself getting hooked on the sport soon after trying it, your rental

fees will be discounted off the price of the kayak you wish to purchase.

Malibu Ocean Sports also offers monthly memberships for $39.95 per

month. Similar to a health club membership, it offers unlimited use of

the kayaks whenever you want for as long as you want.

Besides kayaks, Malibu Ocean Sports rents surfboards, scuba gear,

boogie boards, fishing tackle and wetsuits. A wide variety of kayak

accessories are for sale for such things as attaching a fishing pole or

keeping your kayak anchored while you go scuba diving.

More information on Malibu Ocean Sports is available by visiting their

Web site at o7 https://www.malibuoceansports.comf7 or by calling toll

free 1-877-9KAYAKS.