A rainbow of glossy new, vintage and used surfboards line the walls of the Surf Garage on South King Street. Surf trophies above the customer entrance stare across at Hawaiian artwork acting as décor and merchandise. This local surf shop could pass for a museum.
“The main focus is our surfboards,” said employee Daniel Perez. “We are a different vein from other shops; we offer more traditional hard goods.”
Owner Toru Yamaguchi envisioned that focus when he opened the Surf Garage in May 2002.
“Surfboards are picked based on experience,” he said. “I can see which ones are good or not.”
Yamaguchi, a surfer since the age of 14, moved to Hawai‘i from Japan in 1991. He wanted to open a shop that exemplified the spirit of “old-school surf shops” to focus solely on surfboards, and not just have a few surfboards and sell clothing as the main product.
A unique surf storage area on the second floor separates the Surf Garage from other shops. The space is great for tourists or those who travel a lot and don’t have a place to keep their boards while away from Hawai‘i. It can hold up to 200 boards and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Rates depend on the size of the board and range from a monthly to a yearly charge. For a year, the starting price is $220.
Lauren Swavely, a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa senior, went to Surf Garage to rent a board for a weekend.
“There was a nice, quiet atmosphere. The person was nice and helpful,” Swavely said. “The boards were all in good condition – I really liked the board I rented!”
Yamaguchi believes the shop has been going strong for almost eight years because of “good customer care.” He said his employees have a lot of knowledge and experience in surfing and are eager to help.
“The goal is to make the customers happy,” Yamaguchi said. “If I cannot, I am not happy.”
Perez agrees with his boss.
“The return is however you treat the customer,” he said. “If you do all right, people will leave happy.”
Surf Garage also sells clothing, skateboards, surf accessories, fins, DVDs and videos, and provides surfboard rentals, repairs and advice. Renting a longboard will cost $25 a day or $140 per week, while shortboards will cost $20 a day or $115 per week.
The shop offers many boards from mainland shapers, and from several local shapers such as Randy Rarick, Dick Brewer and Ben Aipa.
Sidebar
Surf Garage
2716 S. King St.
(808) 951-1173
surfgarage.com






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