After six years of building up the Ho Stevie! brand in the surf retail scene, Steve Mara is opening his first brick-and-mortar location at 1152 Garnet Ave. in Pacific Beach.
Mara is originally from Wisconsin, but his love of surfing called him out West. He explained the story behind the brand’s name on the company’s website:
“When I started this company, my surfing buddy would always come over to my house and yell to me ‘Ho Stevie let’s go surf!’”
Where most surf shops in San Diego resell expensive name brands, Mara has managed to cut out the middlemen by only selling Ho Stevie! products. Up until now, they have been selling primarily on Amazon, where they are “pretty much the biggest surf shop” on the site, Mara told What Now San Diego.
Since their products are made in the same factories used by other popular surf brands, Ho Stevie! shoppers can expect brand-name-quality gear at comparatively low prices. On Friday, Mara shared some details on what locals can expect at the grand opening in mid-February.
“We’ll have a giveaway where people put their name in a jar, and we’ll give away one of each product,” Mara said. “There will be a lot of winners.”
The grand opening date has not been announced yet, but they plan on updating their Facebook and website to keep fans in the loop. Once open, Ho Stevie! will share the block with Better Buzz Coffee Roasters and Rhythm’s Chicken and Waffles.
