Since the Ferry Landing’s grand opening, June 1st, 1987, La Camisa has been in business. Rob Perales bought the shop in 2020 after managing it for John Romero, the original owner for twenty years. Rob talks of John’s decision to open La Camisa, “John was laying tile in Mrs. Fields cookies at the time, that shop is now Spiro’s, and he thought the Ferry Landing would be a great place for a souvenir shop.” John approached the management company about the idea and the rest is history!
La Camisa boasts being the one-stop souvenir shop. The shop specializes in seashells, sweatshirts, beach accessories, collectibles, socks, and sunglasses. La Camisa has been serving the community for over 35 years and says that they are “where the locals bring their ‘out of town’ guests!” Rob shares that he works hard to make sure to keep fresh and new items in the store, “I attend five to six souvenir shows a year. We try to be different, we don’t want to be like everything else. We have what everyone else doesn’t carry.”
Another factor in La Camisa’s success is the dedication to their customers as well as their employees. Rob explains, “90% of our business are tourists, but we get a lot of repeat customers. We listen to what our customers want.” As far as his team, Rob shares, “We have had some of the same employees ten to fifteen years. That’s unheard of in retail.” To keep good people, Rob does a couple basic things – he listens to them and he treats them well.
La Camisa translates to “the shirt,” and the shop takes pride in the shirts they sell. Rob shares that in the beginning they only carried white shirts as that was in style. Through the years, the shirts have evolved with the trends. However, the focus on good quality and comfort has stayed consistent. La Camisa sizes span toddler through adult so there is something for the whole family. Come by La Camisa and find your piece of Coronado!
