By Gabe Shaw
Have you ever been to Clearwater Beach? If so, have you noticed all of the big t-shirt shops lining the coast? Well I am going to tell you about the oldest store on Clearwater beaches line of t- shirt shops. It is called the Beach Bazaar. The Beach Bazaar is the oldest, continuously, open store on Clearwater beach.
The Beach Bazaar is owned by my moms friends family. His name is Sean Schlesman and the owners of the store are his own mother and father, Pat and Chuck. This topic is extremely interesting to me because the store was bought in 1974. This means this year it will celebrate its 40th year anniversary of being a prosperous business on Clearwater Beach.
This little t shirt shop is not your ordinary seaside shop. It actually started as a dry cleaners, but two years later Pat and Chuck turned it into a t shirt shop. It is not like your big old Surf Style or your Ron Jon Surf Shop. This place is unique, a bazaar to be exact. Rather than selling the same things every other store does, they sell unique items like Coach purses, and sand dollars. Of course they sell shirts like every other store, but its those little strange and quirky items they have for sale that keeps business rolling in and keeps the place special.
As I interviewed Sean more I found out that there parents store turned into a franchise when they bought a second store right next door to their original in 1978. It was called Beach Kids Five because it sold mostly kids beachwear. But that store closed in 2000 because of low profitability, and they went back to the Beach bazaar.
During the forty years that the shop has been on the beach they have seen many things come and go. Some of the most noteworthy things that have come and gone to Clearwater Beach was the Holiday Inn. At that time it was the only hotel on the beach. That is mind blowing to me. The only places you could really stay at that time were mom and pop motels that scattered the coastline. Some more noteworthy things that are as old as the Beach bazaar is the Palm Pavilion. The Palm Pavillion was one of the only restaurants that time. One final thing that the owners of the Beach bazar has seen come and go from the beach was the T- Shirt Shack. This store was the Beach Bazaars main competition back in the seventies and eighties.
Now in 2014 the Beach bazaar has more competition. Their main competition is businessmen from out of country that build huge stores and end up hurting the Beach Bazaars business. This is where the store has had to adapt to its new surroundings. To counter these big stores from stealing their business, the sell strange, quirky, and weird items to keep people interested.
The Beach Bazaar has seen many things throughout its 40 year and counting career as local entrepreneurs. The have seen its good and bad days. Its competition rise and fall. But the one thing they have carried with them this entire time is a vision of the past, a glimpse of what life was like back in 1970. No matter how long this business lasts, it will always be the coolest shop on the coast.
Pinellas County History Project 