local love #3... the sugarmill

Today we catch up with Chris Chong, tireless retailer/surfer/good times organiser and one of the brains behind The Sugarmill:

Sir Chongy

Name and location of your store:

THE SUGARMILL FINE SURF EMPORIUM
1329 Pittwater Rd, Narrabeen, NSW, 2101

1. How long has this store been operating?

Still garage days – Jan this year.

2. What's your local break?

Our shop local is the mighty Narra strip, Southy all the way to Northy, but Davy is a Bungan boy and Stu and Chongy are lords of mantown. You’re likely to find those land pirates mincing on the Nth Steyne bench most mornings of the week.

3. Who is your favourite local surfer or shaper?

Our faves are all the boys we surf with, hang with, do life with, build boards for... Kids like Matty Chojnacki, Ellis, the brothers Salsbury, Otis Carey, Stuey (ha), but I still love seeing Ozzie in the line up and the Fitzy’s still throw more water than anyone.

As for fave shaper, well that’s easy; Davy Howell from Misfit Shapes, and not just saying that cause he co-owns the store, but Davy’s approach to board design is pure radness. Its never a dull moment when Davy walks out of the bay...




What's your favourite local eatery/drinkery?

We love japanese, so tamagawa, izumi, jipang in manly are always frequent destinations, but vespa across the road is the boobs for a poached egg breaky and zubi bar at newport make the coffee from Jesus. As for rare coffee The Sugarmill is now serving the amazingly refined coffee of ‘SINGLE ORIGIN ROASTERS‘ and their heavy bodied ‘Mostro blend’. Come in and let our renowned log shredder barista Matty Chojnacki treat your lip and support a great cause with all coffee profits going towards supporting the global aid projects of non-for-prof org - Misfit Aid.

And for drinkerys – the pony room in manly (old safety wolf boys), the sands for a countery and a fight and our verandah in summer when there is arvo sun.

What keeps the locals coming in?

I guess our whole approach to everything is community. We love people and we strive to make that known to our clientele. Unique product, good service, a warm retail environment and getting behind whats happening around us keeps us in favour with them. We get behind a lot of board riders clubs, local events etc, plus we have been known to throw an event or two ourselves. You have to give people a good reason to come see you and I guess that’s what we strive tirelessly for...