Chris Glenn can count on one hand the number of businesses he and his wife Annie Glenn own inside Seaport Village, the downtown San Diego shopping center and restaurant hub adjacent to San Diego Bay.
President
LG Retail Enterprises, Inc.
The Glenns’ LG Retail Enterprises, Inc., which they founded in 1996, recently opened its fifth site at Seaport Village: Beachcity San Diego located at 849 W. Harbor Drive.
The couple’s other stores are San Diego Surf Company (opened in 2005), Urban Girl (2007) and Seaport Shoe Company (2011). The Glenns also own Urban Beach House in The Headquarters at Seaport, the former home of the San Diego Police Department turned shopping center.
LG Retail Enterprises has had a presence in Seaport Village since 2000, starting with American Nostalgia, a memorabilia and pop culture store. The 500-square-foot store began as a kiosk at Horton Plaza then expanded to a brick-and-mortar store there. The Glenns in 1994 opened a satellite spot at the Hotel del Coronado (which closed in 2002) and later added the Seaport Village site.
The idea to open Beachcity was spurred by the owners’ son Cooper Glenn, 20, who told his parents he thought they could make a go of a store that sold items beyond what their other four stores offer – mostly surf-related items, including clothing and shoes.
The Glenns reached out to Port of San Diego Asset Manager Donovan Marinez and agreed on a lease in March.
“It came together really fast, which is good… we wanted to get hopping so we wouldn’t miss out on peak season,” Chris Glenn said.
Beachcity San Diego is now open in the 2,700-square foot spot where conservationist/artist Robert Wyland once showcased his work at his popular gallery. The new store is a modern take on the classic surf shop, with an upscale collection of beach apparel and related items sourced from iconic brands, such as San Diego-based athleticwear company Vuori and California-native Patagonia. Additional offerings at the store include items from RVCA, Brixton, Vissla and Katin.
“We spent quite a bit of money fixing it up,” said Chris Glenn. “We really like Seaport Village and we think it is the ideal place for mom-and-pop operators – a great place to start as a small business. It has always cultivated businesses and allowed them to grow. And once you open in Seaport Village, the odds of succeeding are high because it brings the foot traffic.”
Since the Port of San Diego took ownership of Seaport Village in 2018, its governing board has approved investment spending at Seaport Village – $10.4 million to date, including $3 million spent for sitewide enhancements, activations and deferred maintenance.
“They’re doing a great job bringing in tenants,” Chris Glenn said of the Port. “Mike Hess Brewing is here, and the coffee place (Spill the Beans) is crushing it. The addition of Malibu Farm (coming in August) will also help drive traffic on that end.”
Glenn’s praise for the Port of San Diego comes despite the possibility his five shops may not be part of the Port’s future plan for Seaport Village – a $3.5 billion overhaul and redevelopment of the area to create the 105-acre “Seaport San Diego,” complete with high-end hotels, a blue tech hub and an event center.
Despite the uncertainty the plan brings for Seaport Village’s current shop owners, LG Retail Enterprises is currently riding a pandemic rebound in business. From 2019-20, the company experienced a 43% decline in business, mostly due to COVID. The company recovered from 2020-21, when business “jumped 94%,” Glenn said, then from 2021-22, business went up 19%, with a record 2022.
After a slow spring 2023 with year-to-date revenues down 7%, mostly because of the weather, Glenn said the company was on track to have its best month ever in July “thanks to summer finally showing up and the huge draw of the two-night Morgan Wallen concert at Petco Park.”
LG Retail Enterprises, Inc.
FOUNDED: 1996
PRESIDENT: Chris Glenn
VICE-PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY: Annie Glenn
HEADQUARTERS: Solana Beach
BUSINESS: Retail
EMPLOYEES: 50
WEBSITE: sandiegosurfco.com; urban-beach-house.com
CONTACT: 800-201-7711
SOCIAL IMPACT: LG stores host fundraisers and hold toy drives during the winter holidays.
NOTABLE: Its roots reach back to a kiosk at the Horton Plaza mall in 1993.
