“Forty-five years serving the nicest people in town”: Matt Moore says goodbye to Rincon Designs | Business

 Rincon Designs — Carpinteria’s iconic bright blue and brown plank surf shop that has “everything for the beach,” boasts its sign out front — has had many homes since its launch as a fledgling surf and surfboard shaping spot in 1980. Owner Matt Moore first opened up at 871 Yucca Lane and hopped between a few other places, including what is now Esau’s, until he landed in 1998 at the bustling 659 Linden Ave. storefront. 

Now, the Linden Avenue owners are selling the building; Moore will be out by the end of March, and there are currently no plans to relocate. 

“I woke up one morning and said, ‘It’s time to get out of here,’” he told Coastal View News this week. He looked up at the ceiling, where decades of surfboards, designed with the business’ iconic double M, are perched. Since Moore announced the business’ impending closure, loyal customers have piled in, intent on snagging one last piece of gear before the storefront shuts down for good. “It echoes so much in here, now.” 

This decision had been coming for some time. Moore said he’s been patching up parts of the building for years, and after his insurance company canceled the retail shop’s fire insurance last year, and his rent hiked again, he knew his time on Linden Avenue was up. 

“Retail is hard in Carp — competing with online retail like Amazon, Costco… seven to eight months a year, it’s slow,” he said.

But as Rincon Designs’ storefront era comes to a close, Moore spoke with CVN about the years of love and support that he and his family have experienced, shifting through decades of photos, newspaper clippings and faded designs. 

It’s hard to reconcile all the memories: the hundreds of employees and locals, the thousands of visitors, campers and travelers. 

“It’s been good in Carp. I’m super grateful that I had my dream come true,” he said. “…There are good years and bad ones. Lots of it depending on the weather. But it’s never easy or guaranteed. I love Carpinteria. I feel beyond lucky to have the ocean and the weather determine my life. There has never been one predictable or easy year of business. Forty-five years serving the nicest people in town.” 

Moore got his start at age 12, cutting up and reshaping old longboards at his childhood home on Concha Loma. (He still lives there to this day, and credits his mom for encouraging his passion.) At 15, he began shaping custom boards — “the board business just flowed from the very beginning” — and by the time he graduated from Carpinteria High School in 1970, he had a long list of clients that has only grown. 

The business has received a lot of love since announcing its Linden Avenue closure back in January. Instagram posts from the @rincondesignsurfshop page have drawn hundreds of likes and comments, all mourning the loss of a Carpinteria staple. 

Don’t worry too much, though; Moore’s kids will likely continue selling Rincon Designs products online, and Moore isn’t quite ready to retire just yet. (“I think I’m the kind of guy who never retires,” he joked.) He’ll still be surfing and shaping boards, like he’s been doing since he was a kid. 

He parts with a thank you to the Carpinteria Valley, and a warning to “keep Carp, Carp.” 

“Do as much stuff as you can while you’re young,” he said. “You can’t get that time back.”