Beach Bums Gifts & Decor, a popular coastal gift store in Punta Gorda, Florida, is celebrating one year since reopening. The store, which was previously located in Punta Gorda’s Fishermen’s Village, closed during COVID. When owners Cathy and Bob Perry saw a storefront opening last year, they jumped at the opportunity and reopened Beach Bums at its new Laishley Park location in Punta Gorda.
“We considered it retirement when the store closed, but I quickly realized retirement wasn’t for me,” Cathy Perry explains, adding that she spent a few years making decorative wreaths and other crafts she sold to consignment shops before reopening Beach Bums.
The original Beach Bums gift shop featured something for everyone — coastal gifts, souvenirs, T-shirts and some costal decor pieces. Since the new storefront is twice the size of the original location, Perry says she has been able to expand her merchandise selection and add more decor to appeal to local customers.
“When folks are relocating to Punta Gorda or areas close by, they often want to add a coastal or beachy element to their decor,” she explains.
The store also carries T-shirts, perfumes, stickers, coastal-themed jewelry, name-drop ornaments, fossilized resin figurines shaped like sea birds and shore bird wood carvings. Customers are also drawn to a rack of Leanin’ Tree greeting cards.
“There’s a restaurant upstairs, so that brings a lot of people in,” Perry says. “Some of the people going to the restaurant will come in here just to pick up a card or a gift. That’s been really great for us at this location.”
The store also features a children’s cove, full of kids’ books, stuffed animals, puzzles and a custom shirt for toddlers. Perry says she also created a Beach Bums’ coloring page to entertain kids in the store while parents browse the store.
With a love for crafting, Perry adds that she still makes decorative wreaths in coastal and seasonal themes that she sells in the store.
On top of the beachy gifts and decor, Perry focuses on making sure the store has a relaxed, beachy vibe.
“I want to create an experience for customers,” she says. “I’ll spray a perfume in the store from True Ocean that smells just like the beach. People walk in and say it smells so good in here, and that warms my heart. It makes the experience even more pleasant.”
Beach Bums plans to celebrate its one-year milestone with customers in the store May 23 and 24, with cake and some giveaway drawings. Perry says she’s been impressed by the number of customers who remember the old store and have expressed appreciation in its return.
“A lot of people come in and say, ‘Weren’t you in Fishermen’s Village before?’ So to have them recognize the store, that feels good,” she says. “People are loving the store, often saying things like, ‘We’ll be back.’ It’s been overwhelmingly accepted and I’m blown away.”
