Meet the Cal Poly student who started his own vintage clothing shop in downtown SLO
Adam Kemp is a triple threat of sorts: a nationally ranked NCAA collegiate wrestler, a Cal Poly MBA student and — most recently — a small-business owner.
On March 2, Kemp opened Thrifty Beaches, a vintage shop selling curated clothing and furniture pieces in downtown San Luis Obispo.
“I heard a lot of people tell me they didn’t think opening a shop was going to work,” Kemp told The Tribune. “As I have been opening the store, I have really been wanting to prove these people wrong.”
Kemp has been defying people’s expectations since the beginning of his journey.
His love of vintage began in 2021 when he transferred to Cal Poly from Fresno State to wrestle. As a way to make ends meet, Kemp went to garage sales and began flipping the items he found.
Flipping thrifted finds became a passion and he quickly grew a following. Eventually, Kemp knew he wanted to open a shop of his own.
When beginning to look for a location for the shop, Kemp said his girlfriend sent him a listing for a space on Craigslist.
With his girlfriend by his side, Kemp went to tour the space and met the owner. After viewing it, Kemp was eager to take it but was competing with a line of people also interested in leasing the space.
Kemp was told he would be notified in two weeks as to whether or not he was chosen. Instead of waiting idly by, he waited in his car across the street and watched others tour the location. Kemp unknowingly failed to put the car in park and bumped the car in front of him, causing a scene.
After feeling certain the incident would cost him his chance at securing the storefront, he left. Ultimately though Kemp’s dedication and interest in the space led the owner to call him and offer up the space that same night, he shared in an interview with The Tribune.
“It’s funny because that incident actually showed her how much we cared,” Kemp said.
He searched for thrifted goods at estate sales, garage sales and the Goodwill Bins – where he came up with the name for his store.
Kemp told The Tribune he observed a competitive, cutthroat thrifting culture and recalled watching a man get kicked out of the store for fighting over a bag with another shopper.
“I walked into the Goodwill Outlet here in San Luis Obispo one day and thought to myself, ‘These are some thrifty b***ches,’” Kemp said. “It was wild. Thrifty Beaches is like a psychological phenomenon that I observed. People act out of character when there is something to gain.”
Out of that experience, almost like an inside joke, the name of his shop was born.
In just three weeks, Kemp had taken down some of the shop’s walls, repainted the floors, removed the ceiling tiles and constructed the clothing racks.
In addition to clothes on racks throughout the store, Thrifty Beaches offers bins for customers to sift through inspired by the popular Goodwill Bins, Kemp said.
“I wanted to make bins full of curated stuff like the Goodwill Bins,” Kemp said. “However, I wanted the bins to be curated with stuff that people would actually want. Everything in the bins is desirable.”
During its opening March 2, customers packed the store at 1019 Broad St., even lining up outside. Since then, that trend has continued, with customers frequently seen outside, waiting in line to get their hands on highly sought-after vintage pieces.
“The opening has absolutely surpassed my expectations,” Kemp said. “It has been really busy.”
Kemp sources the items in the shop’s collection by visiting vintage markets up and down the state and buying items on wholesale.
“Our motto is just to give people what they want,” he said oh his philosophy when buying for the shop. “When customers come into the store, they will find something they want.”
