There aren’t too many surf retailers in the world that can claim to have had their doors open for 50 years, but Jack’s in Huntington can. Born in the O.C. in the 1950s, Jack’s has been a cultural icon on the corner of PCH and Main Street, Huntington Beach for six decades.

Jack Hokanson opened the doors to the original Jack’s in 1957. Located in a two-story red brick building dating back to 1915, it remained there until the late Mike Abdelmuti took over the store in the 1970s. Redevelopment of the downtown area in 1993 gave rise to the Mediterranean style 50,000 square-foot building that we know today.

In the new incarnation of Jack’s, the Surfing Walk of Fame was dedicated in the name of Duke Kahanamoku in 1994 and its first inductions of Mark Richards, Bruce Brown, Tom Blake, Robert August, and Joyce Hoffman began the annual placing of granite stones in the sidewalks surrounding the store. After 14 years of induction ceremonies, the granite stones along the hallowed sidewalk in front of Jack’s are now home to over 70 of surfing’s most honored names.

It’s hard to believe that Jack’s has been around longer than the annual surfing championships at the pier. Jack’s has been there since the beginning—bearing witness to the rise of the now famous Huntington surf contest scene. From Jack Haley winning the inaugural West Coast Surfing Championships in 1959, the contest then morphed into the United States Surfing Championships. The event would develop once more into the professional arena with the Op Pro in ’82 and ultimately the U.S. Open of Surfing in ’94—an event that has become a summertime focal point in the surfing community. Throughout all of this history, Jack’s was there.

The original Main Street location has spawned locations in Dana Point and Newport Beach and most recently the mega-store location on PCH at Fashion Island, Corona Del Mar.

Through the year’s, many surf brands have come and gone. In the early ’60s, Jack’s Surfboard’s ads touted wetsuits by O’Neill and surf wear by Hang Ten, and what’s amazing to this day is that O’Neill remains one of Jack’s top brands in the stores.

Huntington Beach is "Surf City" and business wise that corner arguably produces more dollars per square foot of retail than anywhere else. The battle for the windows in Jack’s is a stamp of approval of a brands acceptance in the world of surf business.