Three generations.Two thousand miles of coastline.One Coastal Highway address since 1996.
We're not a summer pop-up. The lights are on in February. The shells are dusted in March. The fudge gets cut on Tuesdays.
A Florida shell shop, way up north.And then it stayed.
Vince and Ginny opened the first Sea Shell Shop in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in 1953. A second came to Ocean City, Maryland. A third on the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. At the peak there were five up and down the coast. The Rehoboth boardwalk store ran for 43 years before we moved here, to Coastal Highway, in 1996, and built out ten thousand square feet on Route 1.
Today it's a third-generation family business. Patty Derrick paints the watercolors on the wall. Her sons help run the floor. Half the shop is run by people who paint, putt, sample fudge, and keep hermit crabs themselves. The other half is run by people who quietly fix the screen door. Both halves are family.
Five things under one roof.
- 01 A real gift shopSeashells in bins, jewelry, kitchen things, beach signs, glassware, magnets, notecards, puzzles, toys.
- 02 Homemade fudgeMade in the back, sliced at the counter, sold by the pound. Free samples on every flavor.
- 03 Hermit crabsLive crabs, painted shells, climbers, food. Real care advice, not a printed card.
- 04 Patty Derrick originalsWatercolors painted in town, printed on canvas, pillows, bags, magnets, notecards.
- 05 Shell We Golf18 holes of mini golf around the side. Open the same hours as the shop, weather permitting.
The screen door is always open.
The shop has free parking out front and a fudge counter in the back. Mini golf is around the side. We'd rather you walk in than browse online.
