Summer Sun Surf Shop
When Dylan Gorman took over Summer Sun Surf Shop on January 1, 2025, he wasn’t just stepping into a retail space—he was stepping into a legacy.
Opened in 1982, the shop had been a fixture on the Washington Street Mall for decades. At just 25 years old, Gorman was now its new owner, standing in the middle of the inventory he’d just acquired and thinking, “Holy sh*t, now I own 50 boogie boards.” What came next was a total transformation—planned, fast-tracked, and executed with the precision of someone who had been preparing for this moment for years.
If Gorman’s name sounds familiar, it might be because of his long tenure at another Cape May staple—It’s a Breeze—where he worked his way up from part-time summer help at age 16 to store manager, overseeing scheduling, product input, and eventually leading the store to significant revenue growth. “And kudos go to the owners, because they gave me the freedom to also make mistakes. They said, ‘Run it as your business,’ and I treated it like it was.”
Eventually, however, feeling like something wasn’t his wasn’t quite enough, and Gorman decided to strike out on his own. “I outgrew my position and felt I needed to do something for myself,” Gorman explains. “I always knew I wanted to work for myself.” That self-awareness, along with a relentless work ethic and a solid business foundation—Gorman already has his Bachelor’s in Entrepreneurship as well as an MBA—set the stage for his next chapter.
After he approached Summer Sun’s longtime owner Danny DeCamillo in the summer of 2024, the two finalized a deal by the end of the year. “We had contracts signed… and then December 31st it was official,” Gorman says. “January 1st, I took over the lease.”
And he hit the ground running.
Over the next five weeks, Gorman—alongside his girlfriend, mom, and a few friends—overhauled the shop’s interior. “We did floors, paint, added lighting, redesigned the whole store,” he says. “When we had contracts signed, I already had the floor guy scheduled.” Even a snowstorm and a buying trip to Florida couldn’t slow him down. By Valentine’s Day, the doors reopened.
One of the most noticeable changes? The vibe.
“It’s bright, refreshing,” Gorman says. “We added a lot of lighting and a total surround sound.” A custom playlist of pop, indie, country, and classics like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bob Dylan sets the tone, while fresh paint in alabaster white creates a warm, airy backdrop. “You could be shopping at one table, and a person behind you could also be shopping at the table behind you, and you wouldn’t feel like you need to move around each other. It’s a lot more open.”
As for the merchandise? Gorman leaned into what he knows best: apparel.
“My top two brands are Rip Curl and O’Neill,” he says. “Instead of carrying 10 brands, I just carry Rip Curl, O’Neill, and the occasional other brand.” His thinking is deliberate—and, it turns out, strategic. “Most surf shop owners develop relationships with reps, and they don’t necessarily want to stop that relationship whether the brand is performing or not,” he explains. “I came into it with no previous relationships. So, I had no problem saying, ‘We’re no longer carrying this brand.’”
The result? A sharper focus—and a major bump in sales. “Revenue-wise, I’m up about 250% compared to last summer,” Gorman notes. “I know resortwear apparel very well, but it’s also all a gamble. I’m ordering higher volumes, which comes with risk.”
Still, Gorman hasn’t abandoned the surf essentials. The shop continues to carry a curated selection of surfboards, skate parts, and wax. But with apparel making up the bulk of his sales, he’s made a conscious choice to reallocate space. “In terms of business, it’s about 8%, so it takes up a much smaller portion of my store. I push a lot more apparel and the stuff that generates bigger revenue. So that’s also why I’ve seen a change, you know, I’m targeting more of my customer base as opposed to what a surf shop’s customer base should be,” says Gorman.
And that customer base? “It’s primarily women now,” he says. “Danny would order like 80% men’s apparel and 20% women’s. Next year, I’m going to be ordering about 70% women’s apparel and 30% men’s. My customer base has basically flipped.” That includes Gorman’s own growing line of Summer Sun-branded tees and hoodies, which are quickly becoming customer favorites.
There’s a lot that happens in the first year of ownership, but above all, Gorman is determined to maintain the highest level of customer experience. “I want you to come in and feel comfortable shopping. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t shop because people are watching you,” he says. “If you don’t like the item, I don’t want you to feel like you can’t return it. I want you to have the item that you want, and when you take it out of the bag, I don’t want it to be wrinkled.”
His attention to detail extends to branding, packaging, even payment processing. “A lot of merchants are charging an extra percentage for using credit cards. I’m not gonna do that. I’d rather eat the cost. I’m just really trying to build the best customer experience at all times and at every stage of the buying process, even when you get home and take the item out of the bag.”
Gorman also found a creative way to honor both the community and the store’s history. A wall near the entrance now serves as a gallery wall for customers’ photos. “Beachgoers, locals, people that used to shop at the store—they can DM me pictures, and I’ll go to CVS, print them, and put them on the wall. Then they can come in again and sign their picture,” he explains.
And while Summer Sun’s rebirth is more than a full-time job—Gorman himself is working over 12 hours per day, seven days per week—his entrepreneurial spirit doesn’t stop there. He’s also recently acquired the brand Cape Mayniac, along with its apparel and accessory line. “Cape Mayniac is a money play, and a really cool play on words and I see it developing,” he says.
Looking ahead, he hopes to stay involved in both. “In five years, I’ll be 30,” he says. “Hopefully Cape Mayniac will have its own store. My first employee will probably be running Summer Sun. But I’ll always be hands-on.”
For now, he’s focused on perfecting the in-store experience—and growing something that’s already beloved into something truly unforgettable. “I want people to love this surf shop.”
