Two Pacific Beach-born companies are joining forces to open a new store in San Diego's North County. Eyewear and accessories brand Blenders is teaming up with ice cream sandwich specialists The Baked Bear to launch a combination ice cream and sunglasses shop in the beach town of Encinitas.
Founded in 2012 by San Diego State University alum Chase Fisher, Blenders Eyewear is a sunglasses and lifestyle company that opened its first retail store in the summer of 2017 on Cass Street in its home neighborhood of Pacific Beach. Last December, Italian eyewear giant Safilo Group purchased a 70% stake in Blenders at a $90 million valuation, leaving the remaining 30 percent with Fisher. Earlier this year when the COVID-19 pandemic took the country by storm, Blenders announced that it would produce and donate 10,000 goggles to hospitals in San Diego and Los Angeles, including 2,000 pairs to Sharp Healthcare, 3,500 to Scripps Health, 4,000 to UCLA Medical Center, and will provide an additional 500 pairs to friends and family on the frontlines.
The brainchild of a lifelong ambition between San Diego natives and best friends Shane Stanger and Rob Robbins, The Baked Bear opened its first location in 2013 a stone's throw from Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach and the company now has locations all around California, as well as in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, and more, with many additional outposts in development. The ice cream parlor concept offers a modern take on an old-fashioned ice cream sandwich with made-to-order combinations of baked in-house gourmet cookies and California-crafted ice cream flavors. Waffle and brownie ice cream sandwiches, creamy milkshakes and chocolate dipped bananas are also featured on the menu.
Blenders and The Baked Beach will soon open a combination store at 587 South Coast Highway 101 in the heart of Encinitas. Customers will be able to shop for eyewear and get their ice cream fix all in one shared space. Based on the success of this first joint venture between to the two Pacific Beach-based businesses, more joint venture locations may open around San Diego and beyond.
For more information, visit blenderseyewear.com and thebakedbear.com.
