Quiverito Surf Shop Has a New Owner

Brian Thompson, the new owner of Quiverito Surf Shop and an avid surfer, realized a dream when he purchased the surf shop from previous owner, Marilee Woolace. “Since high school, I’ve wanted to open a surf camp. I’ve looked at properties in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and all of a sudden this opportunity to buy a surf shop in Sayulita fell in my lap,” confided Brian.

Brian’s uncle, who is retired, spends his winters in Lo de Marcos, a small town North of Sayulita. When he happened upon a posting on Facebook about Quiverito being for sale, he sent it to Brian, who was living in New York. Having never set foot in Sayulita, Brian came down for four days to check out the town and the shop. “I fell in love with Sayulita. It’s such a nice, little town. It’s not completely off the beaten path. A lot of the places I would travel for surf trips were very rustic with nothing around. Here I knew I could surf everyday and still be socially involved in a community,” Brian shared.  

Brian returned to New York, and within two weeks, put in his notice to leave his job in environmental work. Upon completing his final three weeks of work, he packed up his truck, and moved to Sayulita, where he has been the last month and a half. “I knew I could make it happen. So, I just took the plunge,” he admitted. “And so far, so good. The shop has been pretty busy,” he added.

Twenty-three surfboards were included with the sale of the shop and Brian has since added eight more boards: A few short boards, a long board, and a couple fish boards. The majority of the boards are for rent, but there are a few vintage boards for sale. He hopes to add additional boards for rent to the mix, shaped by a buddy in New York. “The boards are higher end than you would normally find in a surf rental shop and are geared more towards the intermediate and advanced surfer. They are great for people who know how to surf, but want to try new boards, or for surfers who are traveling and don’t want to bring their own board. When you check a board on a flight, you never know what it will happen to it,” said Brian.

Brian is excited about this new endeavor and is planning to make a few changes to the shop. “I have some big shoes to fill,” he admits. “Marilee did a great job with the shop,” he added. Brian is planning to sell more surf clothing, as well as artwork and jewelry made by girlfriend, Cristina.  He would also like to add more of a social aspect to Quiverito Surf Shop “I’d like to get some comfortable seats, and maybe play some surf videos. I want to make it a place where people want to come and hang out and talk about surfing, as well as rent boards and buy merchandise” said Brian.