Lake Worth Tee Shirt Co. founder retiring with mixed emotions after 40 years
Owners of Mama Mia’s pizza will take over the popular store Barry Freedman opened in 1986 at the Lake Worth Casino complex
In 40 years hawking beach accessories at the oceanfront Lake Worth Beach Casino complex, Barry S. Freedman can remember getting yelled at by a customer just once.
It had nothing to do with the merchandise or service at his store, the Lake Worth Beach Tee Shirt Co.
“Richie Havens came in one day,’’ Freedman says, referring to the legendary folk musician known for a career-defining performance opening the Woodstock rock festival in 1969.
“He’s at the front desk. I say, ‘Richie, I saw you open at Woodstock, summer of ‘69!’ And he blew up at me: ‘If one more person tells me that again, I’m going to go crazy!’’’ Freedman recalled with a laugh. “Richie Havens threw a fit in the store. I said, ‘OK, I am very sorry.’’
Freedman, who since 1986 has taken pride in keeping customers happy as the affable proprietor of the Lake Worth Beach Tee Shirt Co., is about to say goodbye to the city’s oceanfront.
One of the last living links to a bygone era, he has sold the T-shirt business to the owners of the Italian restaurant Mama Mia’s on the Beach, a few doors down at the casino. He will turn the keys over to Anthony and Lily Vultaggio next week, then take off later this fall on a road trip to see friends and go fishing.
“It’s a bitter sweet emotion that I’m going through,’’ said Freedman, a casino merchant since 1985. “I’ve seen generations of families come through my doors. I’m gonna miss the beach so much. But I’m 76 years old. I’ve got a lot of things I want to do in my life while I still can.’’
Other than the absence of Freedman’s smiling face, customers seeking beachwear, snorkel masks and sunblock shouldn’t notice any major differences under the new ownership.
“Everything is going to remain the same,’’ Anthony Vultaggio said. “Mr. Freedman is going to stay on and help us with the transition because he’s a fixture. Of course, certain little things will change in terms of inventory, but the feeling, the shirts, the good vibes, all of that will remain the same.’’
Born in New Haven, Conn., and raised in Boston, Freedman started passing through South Florida in the 1970s while working in the amusement business, selling T-shirts at major fairs up and down the east coast.
The blizzard of 1978 convinced him to live in South Florida fulltime, he said. He moved to Lantana, to be close to the boat yard where a sailboat he co-owned was docked, and started looking for opportunities at the Lake Worth beachfront.
He bought the Casino Drugs and Sundries shop in the casino building, in the present Mama Mia’s spot next to the municipal pool. He gave the store a new name, Surfside Sundries and Beach Shop, and opened on April 3, 1985.
A year later, he opened a second store a few doors down — the Lake Worth Tee Shirt Co. — next to John G’s, the popular restaurant infamous for its long lines. He eventually sold Surfside Sundries and focused his energy on the Tee Shirt Co.
After the casino building closed in 2011 for an $11 million renovation, other longtime merchants left and didn’t return for the casino’s re-opening in 2013, including John G’s, which moved to Manalapan.
But the Tee Shirt Co. stayed because Freedman believed in the future of the casino complex. He redesigned his 1,400-square-foot space into a beach shopper’s paradise: racks of beachwear, jewelry, hoodies, frisbees, sandals, sunhats, boogie boards and hundreds of T-shirt designs.
“It’s always a good day to go to the beach!” Freedman would tell customers — a phrase that became the store’s motto, as popular as the parrot head mannequin outside the front door welcoming customers with the sign: “COOL INSIDE please come in.”
In 2020, the pandemic forced businesses to shutter in the heart of tourist season. Because he didn’t receive a federal stimulus loan until May, Freedman paid his employees out of his own pocket for two months.
Among his loyal employees: manager Romey Ones, a native of Cuba who didn’t speak a word of English when Freedman hired him to stock sodas.
“It’s been quite an experience up here,’’ said Freedman, who has endured hurricanes and slow summers.
Customers from all walks of life, from all over the world, have come through the doors — tourists, locals, professional athletes, singers Rod Stewart and Tony Bennett, actress Amanda Seyfried, 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley, politico Rudy Giuliani, even some Tibetan monks.
On a break from spring training in 2019, Houston Astros outfielder Josh Reddick stopped by. Attorney F. Lee Bailey once came in and bought a comb.
“I’ve never let anyone go out of here mad, ever,’’ he said, although he’s not sure if his apology that day long ago placated Havens, his ornery Woodstock idol.
Of all the customers, Freedman said his favorites were always the local “surf rats” who grew up on the beach return to the store years later with their own kids.
“My greatest pleasure was watching all the kids grow up to be fine young men and women,’’ he said.
“This has never been work,’’ he said. “I would get up in the morning, look in the mirror and go, ‘Show time!’ and then come down to the shop. Honest. That’s the truth. It’s been a really good life and I am so fortunate.’’
Freedman, who was honored with a proclamation at City Hall last month, said it’s been “surreal” counting down the days to when he hands over the keys to the store.
“My key chain is going to be way lighter,’’ he said with a laugh. “It’s going to be weird. I guess that’s when it’s going to hit me.’’
After helping with the transition, he will take one more walk across the promenade from the store’s front doors and look out to the ocean, a view he says he has never gotten tired of in his 40 years.
Then he has plans to see family in North Carolina and friends along the eastern seaboard. Fishing trips to Costa Rica and Panama are in his future, too.
Wherever he goes, the Lake Worth Beach Tee Shirt Co. will always hold a special place in his heart.
“If he is bored and not having too much fun in his retirement,’’ Vultaggio said, “I’m going to tell him, ‘Hey, come back to work!’’’
HEY, THERE HE IS! Barry is a mensch. One of the best human beings to ever live. This is not hyperbole. I worked in Barry's stores, on and off, for most of my high school and college years. He was NEVER an employer; he's family. He's my family. I hope those that remember Barry will reach out to him and remind him how pivotal he's been in their lives. We learned so much from him and from that beach. Barry is the Lake Worth Beach and he always will be. I love you, B. It's Friday Night, Doing it Right, Making Your Flight for Chicken Delight! -Gabe
(Note to author: I love Romey, too. But he started in 1998, not 1985. We aren't that old!)