Mark Mekenas

Cannon Beach Surf

1088 Hemlock, Cannon Beach

Surfing a breaking wave is an image most often associated with warm southern California and a mostly youthful crowd, but the northern Oregon Coast is a haven for all ages yearning to catch a wave. Cannon Beach Surf is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Visit on-line at (www.cannonbeachsurf.com) or call, (503) 436-0475

What do you do?

“We sell surf boards, wet suits and surfing accessories. We also offer lessons, rentals and repairs. This is a full-service surf shop, a place that is more like the shops we grew up with in the ’70s. Our focus is on hand-made boards. We avoid carrying the mass produced boards from Indonesia and China. Our boards are made by guys who have been shaping boards since the ’60s. Even our rentals are high quality. We will rent $1,000 boards to experienced surfers. We also offer private lessons by licensed instructors for small groups of two to three who are serious about surfing. We have taught a lot of young people here to surf, and there are also a lot of vintage old-time surfers, in their 50s and 60s, who come here because Cannon Beach has a lot of really nice places to surf.”

How did this business get its start?

“In the 1980s I worked in Seattle as a liquor distributor and I would come to Cannon Beach at least one weekend a month to surf. I would head out of Seattle at 5 a.m. and be in the water here by 8. When I retired I bought the family market down the street and opened this surf shop, in a former restaurant, in 1999, selling surf boards and wet suits.”

How has the economy affected your business?

“We had a tough year, a big drop in business, in 2009, but 2010 has been great. Our growth in ’09 was only 2.5 to 3 percent, but it is a lot, lot higher, over 20 percent, this year. I think a lot of people are taking shorter vacations now, coming to the Oregon and Washington coast and that has benefited us. We are giving two to three group lessons a day at this time.”

What is your biggest concern during the current economy?

“While we have cut back on a lot of overhead items, we are trying to maintain a growth in employee numbers. The biggest thing on our mind right now is how we are going to handle the health care issues that are coming up. We employ 10 to 12 part-time workers in the summer and we have no idea how we are going to be able to provide mandatory health care. No one really knows what all of this means, and it is the foremost thing on our minds right now.”