Quiet Flight reopens surf shop in New Smyrna Beach

By Megan Smalley

The surf shop was previously owned by Liberated Brands and closed in March.

Quiet Flight Surf Shop has renovated and reopened its doors in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The New Smyrna Beach store along with all other stores in the Quiet Flight franchise had been owned by Liberated Brands in recent years and closed in March after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Just weeks after the store’s closure, the New Smyrna Beach location was sold back to private owners who renovated and reopened the surf shop April 10.

Ajai Datta, owner of Quiet Flight, says the surf shop has a long history in the New Smyrna Beach community.

“It’s been an iconic store that has served so many guests and locals throughout the years,” he says.

Quiet Flight was originally founded by Ed Leasure in 1972 as a surf shop in Cocoa Beach, Florida. By the late 1970s, Leasure expanded and opened a 2,800-square-foot store in New Smyrna Beach. Over the years, Datta says the Quiet Flight business grew to about 15 franchise stores across the East Coast.

Quiet Flight New Smyrna Beach employees, from left: Grant Hesse, Ian Newland, Ajai Datta, Khaliel Gauntlett and Ashlynn Charters
Datta shares that he began working for Quiet Flight in 1999, overseeing these East Coast surf shops. The stores were known for their surfboards as well as retail clothing from popular brands such as Billabong, Quiksilver and others. The franchise was sold to Billabong in 2008 for $40 million and later to Boardrider’s, which acquired Billabong in 2018.

In 2023, Authentic Brands Group acquired Boardrider’s, which then licensed the store’s operations to Liberated Brands. Datta notes that he had left the company shortly before the sale to Authentic Brands Group.

“I left the organization a little over two years ago, not part of this deal with the licensing group,” he says. “It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing they were doing. I left to focus on building my own journey. But Ed and I knew that if the lease was ever up on the New Smyrna Beach building, there could be opportunity for us to work together again.”

That opportunity came a little earlier than expected this spring. When news came out about Liberated Brands’ bankruptcy, neither Leasure nor Datta wanted Quiet Flight to close its doors for good. Quiet Flight Manager Grant Hesse adds that there was a sense of disappointment among employees and the community when liquidation signs went up in the spring.

“A lot of people, lifelong customers and the community were heartbroken,” says Hesse. “They’ve watched their kids grow up here, bought product here for most of their lifetime. So to see a staple in the community close took a lot of people by surprise.”

While all other Quiet Flight stores had closed as of 2025, Leasure still owned the building in New Smyrna Beach. Datta says he and Leasure planned to reopen the surf shop and worked out a deal with Authentic Brands Group to keep the Quiet Flight name at New Smyrna Beach.

“Ed and Ajai took a risk in reopening this, rebuilding, along with the other employees like myself,” says Hesse.

For about a month, the Quiet Flight team in New Smyrna Beach spent long days renovating the surf shop to give it a fresh feel with new fixtures, fitting rooms and decor. Hesse says the team hung classic surf boards on the ceiling and painted to give the store a modern touch. Lighting was improved by the fitting rooms to make it more welcoming.

The Quiet Flight team had a soft reopening of the store by mid-April, with plans of hosting a grand reopening later this summer.

“We had a lot of good responses since reopening. People were in awe seeing the new fixtures, the lighting and new product, but still the same familiar faces working,” says Hesse.

The store continues to carry well-known surf brands such as Billabong, Quiksilver and Salty Crew as well as some up-and-coming surf and beach brands like Vuori and Duvin Design Co. Hesse says the store also has a good selection of beach essentials for people on vacation.

Datta adds that he is also planning to open another retail surf shop in Waikiki, Hawaii, called Kings and Queens later this year. But as for Quiet Flight in New Smyrna Beach, he says he and Leasure are hopeful it will retain its legacy as a community surf shop.

“New Smyrna Beach has a very tight-knit surf community and it has nostalgia to it, much like Daytona,” says Datta. “The community watches over one another, and we also get a lot of customers who drive in from Orlando to visit the town. It’s a great beach and surf destination. Quiet Flight wants to continue to be customers’ favorite store in town, serving the community.”