Editorial Note: This retailer showcase, presented by Feelgoodz, highlights the continued success of surf shops around the country. Feelgoodz is a North-Carolina based footwear brand that crafts its flip-flops from natural rubber trees in Thailand, and is committed to leaving a positive footprint on the planet. Learn more at www.feelgoodz.com.
A block from Cocoa Beach’s waves sits a massive, castle-like structure with glass windows with people constantly going in and out its doors.
It doesn’t look like your average surf shop — and that’s because it’s far from the average surf shop.
Ron Jon Surf Shop has a reputation that precedes itself.
If you’re driving on Florida’s Turnpike south, you’ll see billboards beckoning you to visit for hundreds of miles.
Its red and white signature bumper stickers are all over vehicles across the country.
And, with an astounding 52,000 square feet, this surf shop is known as the largest of its kind.
Ron Jon Surf Shop has been an industry staple for more than 60 years, all the while providing surfers and nonsurfers alike with one of the most unique surf shop experiences.
History of Ron Jon Surf Shop
Quick, pop quiz!
Did Ron Jon Surf Shop start in Florida?
If you answered no, you're correct!
While Ron Jon Surf Shop is most known for its flagship location in Cocoa Beach, it actually didn’t start there.
Instead, it was founded hundreds of miles north.
In 1959, Founder Ron DiMenna launched Ron Jon Surf Shop in the Jersey Shore. Two years later, what's known as "The Original" Ron Jon Surf Shop opened in Long Beach Island, New Jersey in 1961.
Then, in 1963, Ron took I-95 southbound to the Sunshine State and launched Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach, sitting just north of the Canaveral Pier.
Photo courtesy Ron Jon Surf Shop
The timing couldn’t have been perfect: the 1960s was the big bang of the surf industry. With iconic films such as Gidget and the Endless Summer enticing people to the coast to catch a glimpse of surfing or ride a wave themselves, they needed beach and surf gear.
One name had it all: Ron Jon Surf Shop.
That's one of the many successful elements of Ron Jon Surf Shop: whether it was the 1960s or today, they've consistently had all the surf and beach gear you could need or want.
It's hard to think of another business that has not only served our current generation, but our parents and grandparents — a beach & surf tradition truly unlike any other.
Today, nearly 60 years later, the Ron Jon name and brand are as prevalent as ever.
One of its team riders even won the 2023 World Championship: Florida's own Caroline Marks.
Ron Jon has locations spread across Florida, including Key West, Ft Myers, and Panama City Beach, as well as Orange Beach, Alabama, Ocean City, New Jersey, Myrtle Beach, and more.
But that's not all.
You can even find Ron Jon Surf Shop in some of the nation’s busiest airports — Orlando, Tampa, and John F. Kennedy in New York.
Even with such nationwide growth, their flagship store — a store you have to experience for yourself — sits in the epicenter of surfing in Florida: Cocoa Beach.
“One of a Kind”
When you enter into Ron Jon Surf Shop's sliding glass doors, the first question you’ll have is where to start. The best way to put it is their selection is “colossal”.
You’ll see a massive, open-air, room two stories full of clothes, gear, beach accessories, and so much more.
Take a closer look, and you'll find that their selection is really top-tier. It includes curated selections from surf brands like Billabong, Quiksilver, RVCA, Roxy, Sunbum, Florence and more.
Ron Jon also has its own apparel that, in some ways, seems even more popular with surfers and nonsurfers.
The surf shop also has a wide selection of surfboards, ranging from softops to longboards, fishes and high performance shortboards.
If you're looking to lose yourself in a surf shop for hours, this is the spot to do it.
How to Get to Ron Jon Surf Shop
Ron Jon's flagship store is located at 4151 North Atlantic Avenue in Cocoa Beach, just a block from the beach and in close proximity to Peebles Bridge.
With more than 60 years of excellence, Ron Jon Surf Shop truly is a one-of-a-kind — and something every surfer and tourist alike should experience in the heart of Florida's surfing community.