The ‘Milliner of Manhattan’
When he’s not pulling beers, Shellback Tavern owner Bob Beverly is pulling the hat press for his trucker hats
Story and video by Laura Garber
A popular fashion trend has emerged along The Strand in recent years. No, it isn’t the influx of poorly trained Goldendoodles or decorated party golf carts. It’s trucker hats from the century-old Shellback Tavern.
Once you spot one Shellback hat with the emblematic Manhattan Beach Pier and the curved “Shellback Tavern” logo, armies of Shellback hat devotees will suddenly appear along The Strand and elsewhere around town.
Shellback Tavern hats are ubiquitous South Bay souvenirs. During 4th of July weekend, Shellback Tavern sold over 2,500 hats, according to owner Bob Beverly. “I stopped counting after 2,500,” he said.
Hats in over 60 colors are strung on a cord above his beach themed bar. Hats include The Barbie, a bright pink hat with yellow lettering, and the green and gold Mira Costa.
A sign over the bar reads, “No trying on HATS at this time. Sorry!” As if the trial and errors of a few drunk, indecisive patrons pondering if light blue or beige suits them better influenced the final sale protocol.
The hat sales began five years ago and were an immediate hit. “Mira Costa students started coming in on weekends before we opened to buy hats,” Beverly said. “Then I knew it was becoming a fashion trend.”
Bob’s son Rob first recognized their influence in fashion when dads began bringing in their young daughters to pick out hats.
Their popularity is attributable in part to the professional athletes, country music and Bravo reality stars, such as The Real Housewives who wear them on national television.
“I know when an episode aired showing a hat because we’ll get hundreds of email orders,” Beverly said.
Laker’s Studio Host and former AVP announcer Chris McGee, a longtime Shellback patron, showed the hats on his broadcasts.
“I feel like the hats had an uptick when people on Bravo and podcasters like Josh Peck started wearing them,” said Cassidy Howard, a Manhattan Beach resident, who received her Shellback hat years ago from a man who bought the entire supply late one evening, “That gave it a more global phenomenon. We’ve seen people wearing Shellback hats everywhere,” Howard said.
Shellback manager Rico De Alba remembers a friend visiting an isolated area in Peru, “He was in the middle of nowhere, in the jungle and there’s a person in front of him wearing a Shellback hat,” De Alba said.
“People say it’s the most seen hat in airports around the world,” Beverly chuckled.
The hat sales are only rivaled in popularity by the Shellback’s orange Fanta Shots, a signature Shellback concoction created by De Alba. During last summer’s International Surf Festival, the bar sold over 10,000 shots, Beverly said.
Manhattan Beach resident Laura Schuler attributes the demand for Shellback hats, like her royal purple one, to the bar itself. “Because this bar is amazing,” she said, “If you’ve been, you know it’s charming, kind of divey and centered around volleyball. It’s a Manhattan Beach gem.”
When Beverly and De Alba designed the hats, they decided on the Manhattan Beach Pier, which can be seen from the tavern’s windows. “That’s the same view I’ve seen since I was a little kid in the ‘50s. I turn and look up the other way and I feel like I’m the Indian looking out, with a tear in his eye, seeing how civilization ruined the land,” Beverly said. “That’s why the pier is on the hat.”
Shellback Tavern sells the hats for $15.99. “We don’t sell them to make a profit. That’s why they’re so inexpensive,” Beverly said. “I love walking down The Strand and seeing 17 Shellback hats on my half hour walk.”
A portion of the hat sales benefit local philanthropic efforts, including Mira Costa’s sports teams and the Manhattan Beach Police Department K9 fund. Proceeds also benefit the Neptunian Club scholarship fund, in memory of Beverly’s mother and former Neptunian, Bettelou. “She wouldn’t like the idea of drink sales going to the scholarship fund, so we decided to use the hats,” Beverly joked.
Some attribute the hat’s popularity to the desire of transplants and tourists to integrate into the South Bay scene. “Kids I grew up with started saying ‘Oh man, real locals don’t wear those hats’ And I had to tell them they were wrong,” Rob Beverly said.
“It’s a piece of memorabilia. If you have a good time down here or you just see people wearing them, you want to join the flock.”
Shellback patron Matt Leinart, a USC Heisman trophy winner, former NFL quarterback, and host of Big Noon Kickoff on Fox Sports 1, and wife Josie Loren, used blue and pink Shellback hats to reveal their baby’s gender to family and friends. The gender reveal video received close to 30,000 likes on Leinart’s Instagram.
Shellback’s largest order was 175 hats for a wedding.
“People order them simply to pass them out on their travels,” Shellback bartender Sean O’Neil said.
“I have rooms in my house that I can’t use because they are all hats,” said Beverly, who personally imprints some of the hats on his porch, overlooking the pier. ER
One Response
Awesome article explaining the extraordinary cap sales at Shellback. I have half a dozen of the caps myself and I saw one being worn in Tuscany, Italy !!! Although it was worn by the best man in a wedding that I was attending who’s also a good customer at Shellback !!! I always tell people that owner Bob sells more caps than drinks these days !!! lol Thanks Bob for all you do by selling the caps reasonably and give back to the community that you grew up in. Not many can say that these days !!!