Pacific Beach Town Council is partnering with Randall’s Sandals to celebrate the shop’s seventh anniversary with a Summer Beach Bash.
Randall’s Sandals first opened its Garnet Avenue doors after owner Randall Engstrom brought to life his idea of an all-eco-friendly beach essential shop.
“The retail and fast fashion industry is the second largest polluter behind the oil and plastic industry. I really wanted to step in and start changing the retail industry from the inside,” said Engstrom.
Whether it is sandals, clothing, bags, or sunscreen, the store is entirely stocked with local, eco-friendly, and charitable products. Beachgoers will not find disposable plastic flip-flops lining the shelves of Randall’s Sandals like they would at most surf shops. Rather, Randall’s Sandals promotes products made from materials like recycled plastic bottles and tires.
“Everything I carry and focus on is all for the community,” said Engstrom. “It’s a really stress-free shopping environment – everything has to have a positive message of how it’s made or how they give back.”
Aside from his emphasis on ethical product sourcing, Engstrom utilizes his shop to give back to the San Diego community. He has hosted numerous beach clean-ups and given away much of his stock to the homeless community.
Every Christmas season, Randall’s Sandals does a Packages for Purpose event in which essentials and fun gifts are wrapped to be given away to homeless children. Engstrom also encourages people to bring in their old shoes and sandals for a 10% donation discount on any of his products. The used shoes are then donated to the homeless community.
“It’s a really good way to keep trash out of the landfills while recycling and redistributing shoes to the needy,” said Engstrom. “There’s a lot of foot-borne illnesses and diseases that get spread through the homeless population. Just being able to protect their feet and prevent those illnesses from spreading and causing death has been really rewarding for me.”
His efforts and charitable works haven’t gone unnoticed by the Pacific Beach community. Randall’s Sandals has racked up awards such as best new business, best small business, best gift shop, and small business of the year.
“There was a lot of unknown when I first opened. I didn’t even know if I’d make it a month – honestly, it was the biggest gamble of my life,” said Engstrom. “It’s been a really remarkable journey making it seven years. I couldn’t be here without the community and all their support along the way.”
The PBTC will celebrate Engstrom’s journey with the Summer Beach Bash held at Randall’s Sandals on June 22 from 5-7 p.m. There will be games, prizes, raffles, giveaways, and more. Event-goers can enter to win a donated pair of Rainbow sandals or even partake in a rock, paper, scissors tournament.
“It’s really been a fun adventure and I’m excited for year seven and look forward to hopefully many, many more,” said Engstrom.
RANDALL’S SANDALS
Where: 1033 Garnet Ave.
Hours: 10:33 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
Info: randallssandals.com.
