Faith and fashion behind Thrifty Beaches’ expansion  – Mustang News

Racks on racks of vintage sports merchandise, Levi’s jeans and letterman jackets hang from the walls of Thrifty Beaches’ newest location as customers flip through pieces of clothing hand-selected from across California. 

With upbeat music playing over the speakers, Ryn Webenbauer, Thrifty Beaches employee and Cal Poly alumni, likes how the store brought back energy to downtown San Luis Obispo. 

Thrifty Beaches’ headquarters opened to the public on Sept. 14. Beverly’s Fabrics and Crafts previously occupied the location prior to renting to Thrifty Beaches co-owners Adam Kemp and Maria Trott. 

The new location is 17 times bigger than its previous location on Broad Street, Kemp said. Now, customers can find over 10,000 second-hand items curated from various markets across California. 

Trott said their new location, located at 876 Higuera St., “fell into [their] laps.” For Kemp, he believes he acquired this space through God.

“I’ve always wanted to move into that location because I thought it was a great opportunity,” Kemp said. “I saw a space that is the best space in all of downtown SLO.”

Due to their expansion, Trott and Kemp recently hired 14 new staff members. They closed down their first store on Broad Street on Sept. 12 to focus on their new location, Kemp said.

The Broad location originally opened on March 2. Before they established a storefront downtown, they held popups on Dexter Lawn.

To stock their new space, Kemp and Trott travel across California four or five times a week. They bought thousands of pounds of inventory for their initial opening, Trott said. 

“Because of the space we have, we constantly have to source, which is a blessing and a curse,” Trott said. “That’s why we fell in love with vintage. We like to chase and look for stuff, but with a space this large we really just have to find the time to do that.”

Kemp is pursuing his master’s degree in business administration at Cal Poly and is on the wrestling team. He said it is tough to keep motivation to go to class when he wants to pour all of his energy into Thrifty Beaches.

“I do love Cal Poly, school and wrestling, but I adore my business,” Kemp said.

They did not have a set budget for the move, according to Trott.

“We just put everything into it and hoped for a good turnout, which is kind of funny, but we bet on ourselves,” Trott said. “As long as we have inventory people want, we can always remake that money and invest in something else.” 

Kemp said that some people did not want him to sign the lease, saying that he was going to go bankrupt. 

“It was a little scary, I’m not going to lie,” Kemp said.” I cannot believe how well it’s done, and those people who got mad at me for not listening to them, they’re full supporters now. They came to the grand opening.”

God has not called him to be scared but to be brave in this new journey, Kemp said.

“I’m a big believer in God,” Kemp said. “I feel like he’s leading me somewhere.”