Blondies Season 10: Love, Slushies, and Fashion

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A Poolside Romance Leads to a Thriving Business

Photos by Oscar Almeida

[This story first appeared in our Fall 2024 issue. You can see that here. ]

Love at first sight is often a cliché, but for Shawn McGuire and Dino Alberti, it was the real deal. Their story began at a chance meeting poolside here in Puerto Vallarta, both of them on vacation. It was an encounter that blossomed into a whirlwind romance and a shared dream.

That dream became what is now known as Blondies, Puerto Vallarta’s unique slushie bar. Nine years after opening, the two have built a stylish and eclectic hotspot, the perfect blend of cocktails and fashion, in three different locations. Starting their tenth season, the two are looking forward to a celebration to mark their upcoming tenth anniversary. 

The day the two meet at the poolside, Shawn had asked Dino out for dinner. After that fateful meeting, and despite living worlds apart, the distance wasn’t going to keep them apart – Shawn was living in Kansas City, Missouri and Dino was living in Lima, Peru. 

“We visited each other a half dozen times in our respective countries and within a year decided to make the paradise where we met our permanent home,” Shawn explained. “We started building Blondies a few months later.”

And since their chance meeting, they’ve been virtually inseparable. They have been able to seamlessly blend their personal and professional lives, a true testament to their deep love for each other and their business dream, Blondies. 

“It’s weirdly not challenging at all,” Shawn said. “We’ve been pretty inseparable since we met, and separating the business and personal stuff is next to impossible. It’s like we’re on a rollercoaster, strapped in side by side and it’s a brilliant, exhilarating and often unpredictable ride. We love it and each other enough to make it all work.”

Their hard work has paid off. Over the past nine years Blondies has grown from a single location to now three and added a line of fashion (all of it hand made here in Puerto Vallarta) and merchandise – and yet they have managed to stay true to their original dream. 

That dream was to build a bar through a combination of art, music, cocktails, in a conceptual space reflecting the couple’s love of pop art. All of it inspired by Shawn’s time in the United States where he worked as an artist, musician and bartender. They sought to combine those three elements into an immersive experience.

“We wanted to create a beautiful, clean and safe space. We always said it was like a cool cocktail party where everyone is invited,” Shawn said. “We grew into the fashion some four years in.”

And thus the original Blondies Loft + Slushbar opened in October 2015 at its present location, Pulpito 115 (on the North East corner of Amapas and Pulpito). The two-story loft style building, just steps from the beach, offered slushies, made with premium liquors and fresh ingredients. 

The name for the business came about by coincidence, Shawn told us with a laugh. 

“I had some Mexican friends that took to calling me blondie when they saw me around town,” he explained. “And the first time I visited Dino in Peru, his friends called him Rubio, which is the Spanish word for ‘blonde’. We thought that was really funny and thus, the name Blondies was born. It’s not meant to specifically celebrate blonde people, the comic book character, or the punk band, lol, it’s just our nickname.”

As bar owners Shawn and Dino have cultivated a different kind of allure. Unlike many local business owners who become synonymous with their establishments, the duo prefers to let their businesses shine without overshadowing them.

And it’s not that the two are introverts – they both enjoy a good party –  their blending into the fabric of Puerto Vallarta was intentional. 

“We saw some other local businesses that were thriving, but their owners were such a big part of the energy and allure,” Shawn explained. “That can be a great thing, but it can be a not so great thing when you need or are ready to step away at any time.

Do I feel special when I know and am greeted by the owner at any business? Absolutely! Do I feel a little disappointed if I arrive and they aren’t there? I hate to admit it, but a little. I guess we wanted to avoid this scenario by making our employees and the bar the actual celebrities.

He said that the employees and the bar were “cooler than he and Dino.”

“It just gives us a little space and it’s fun to be a fly on the wall at our own bars,” he said. “A little mystery is good, no?”

Los Otros Blondies

In October 2019 the couple opened the second location of Blondies, at Basilio Badillo 258, offering the same delicious slushies and cocktails, several blocks away from Blondies Loft. Six months after opening, the Covid Pandemic struck.

Los Otros Blondies wasn’t part of the couple’s original plan, but they saw an opportunity and went for it.

“We were just hoping to stay afloat at one location, our ambitions were pretty modest,” Shawn explained. “After a couple of years, we started to realize that we had something special with Blondies Loft. Opening Los Otros Blondies five seasons after the original Blondies was a dream, and recently adding our third location, Más Blondies, for season 10 just feels correct.”

The Pandemic

Like many businesses, the Covid Pandemic was challenging for the business and the couple. The two bars had a staff of 25 people, who were suddenly without work.

“OOF,” Shawn said when I brought up the Pandemic. 

“The pandemic was definitely the Olympics of resilience, perseverance, integrity and ingenuity,” he said. 

He went on to explain that they, like all businesses in Puerto Vallarta, experienced a six-month closure, followed by smaller closures and crippling restrictions. 

“We paid the staff their full salary throughout,” he said. “With no help from the government. Like all businesses, we had many challenges. We were paying two leases, staff, benefits, utilities, accountants, licenses, etc… It was a lot, but we powered through and slept well knowing our crew was ok.” 

But he went on to say that perhaps there was a silver lining in the dark Covid clouds. The downtime allowed the couple to think and plan for the future, and experiment with new ideas. And that’s where the fashion component of Blondies was born.

“It was during that time off that Dino and I started building the Blondies Design Studio, where we now design, print, and sew all of our clothing and produce our merchandise,” he explained. “99% of everything you see in our stores is handmade in the studio above Los Otros Blondies.”

There is now a team of six full time employees that focus on fashion and designs. Inside Blondies Design Studio you’ll find sewing machines humming, turning an amazing array of colorful fabrics into one of their popular lines of clothing. 

While the bar atmosphere drew upon Shawn’s previous passions, the clothing and merchandise put Dino’s business passions to work. He has been instrumental in navigating all the behind the scenes leases, licenses, and logistics. Shawn said that without Dino, neither the bar or design studio would have happened. “I make the car look pretty and he makes sure the wheels don`t fall off,” says Shawn.

“We are constantly learning new techniques and taking it to the next level,” he added. “Learning an entirely new profession was the silver lining, if there was one.” 

The Employees

The bar now has approximately 40 employees – and Shawn and Dino both emphasized that their employees “are everything.” They know how challenging it can be to get and keep good employees, and they also have been in the position that the employees are, both having worked for someone else. 

“We really try to empower our employees without being overbearing,” Shawn said. “I think providing everything they possibly need to do their best jobs and be their best selves is the goal. We have a wonderful team at all levels of experience and seniority, so they are great at sharing knowledge and supporting each other. Everyone is equally important to our success.” 

Shawn said for new business owners his advice would be “to show, not tell, and always lead with integrity combined with compassion.”

Shawn said he worked most of his career in different industries where even health care was not offered through work. And he remembers struggling at times with not having the right support or tools to be successful. 

“That’s stressful,” he said. “We try to show respect and treat our employees as professionals with a career, not just a seasonal hospitality job. We offer incentives and bonuses. Our employees receive 10% of our profits each year. We celebrate with them and we also work with them through challenges, professionally as well personally and I think we all learn and grow together through communication and trust. I’m sure there are a few ex-employees that would disagree, but we’re pretty proud of our track record.”

Celebrating Ten Seasons of Fabulousness

As Blondies kicks off its tenth season anniversary celebration (2024-2025), Shawn and Dino have developed some interesting plans that they hope will keep their loyal patrons excited and engaged.

“We really want this year to be a celebration throughout the season. You’ll see some special events and surprises during high season, and we’re absolutely dropping our most ambitious collection of clothing and merchandise since we began,” Shawn said. “We figured to celebrate 10 seasons, why not 100 new designs? We’ll start adding the new designs to all three boutiques in October, and we’re pretty excited to show them off!”

Working and Living in A Gay Mecca

Life in Puerto Vallarta is undoubtedly fun and unparalleled to living anywhere else. But for those who make it their home, and work here, the reality of balancing work and play can be a regular challenge. 

Shawn explained that many people think living in such a paradise is a perpetual vacation. It’s anything but, and as immigrants in a foreign county, the challenges of running a business can be a bit overwhelming. 

“It’s even difficult for Mexicans to run businesses here and I’d say as immigrants, it comes with a myriad of additional challenges that most people would never think of,” he explained. 

But a support system of fellow business owners in Puerto Vallarta helps, he added, and said it was amazing that all business owners are constantly working hard to make the city the world class gay destination that it has become. 

And now for 10 seasons there have been thousands of people who have enjoyed the hard work the duo have put in to provide the unique place that Blondies has become. 

“THANK YOU,” Shawn said with a huge smile. “Your smiles, seeing you make friends, lovers and memories is the reason we do this, for as long as we can.”

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