When I dropped my oldest son off to college, I wanted to send him with some reminders of his hometown, Virginia Beach. In case you didn’t know, college kids mostly wear T-shirts around campus. It’s the unofficial college uniform.
If you think about it, most T-shirts are really billboards. Students are seen donning their fraternity/sorority, their college, restaurant/bar or an event on their cotton tees. So, we gifted my son with a variety of Virginia Beach billboards ( T-shirts) that displayed some Virginia Beach hot spots.
Being a Virginia Beach local, the two places that I see most often on T-shirts are WRV and Chick’s Oyster Bar. I’d question your local status if you don’t own some tees from these two places.
Chick’s Oyster Bar, a causal, popular waterfront restaurant with a tiki-style ambience, has a small corner near the hostess stand with an extensive selection of shirts and other apparel.
Iconic artist Daniel O’Connor (Danny O) holds up one of his sketches at Shorebreak on Shore Drive. This summer, Danny O visited the restaurant and sketched dogs for customers while kicking off his new T-shirt collaboration with Shorebreak and Hot Tuna. (Lee Belote/For The Virginian-Pilot)
WRV (Wave Riding Vehicles), one of Virginia Beach’s oldest surf shops, has the most recognizable logo for surf culture with five dolphins shaped in an arc that mimics the crest of a wave.
These aren’t just popular places. Both have done an excellent job with great designs and branding. It’s wonderful marketing that has set them apart from other establishments in the area.
Shorebreak and Hot Tuna have recently upped their T-shirt game.
The restaurants have collaborated with artist Daniel O’Connor, known as “Danny O”. He’s the famous Virginia Beach artist who designed the 1980’s series of cartoon characters that adorned the popular 17th Street Surf Shop T-shirts. These shirts became iconic among local surfers, skaters and teens.
Do you remember these cool shirts? I had one.
Artist Danny O, known for his gang of cartoon characters on the 17th Street Surf Shop T-shirts, recently designed shirts for Hot Tuna and Shorebreak in Virginia Beach. (Lee Belote/For The Virginian-Pilot)
They featured a cool gang of characters, and the most recognizable was the “nose picker.” Everyone, and, I mean everyone, had one.
JB Maas, co-owner of Shorebreak Pizza and Hot Tuna, owned one of the classic masterpieces and reached out to Danny O over social media. He asked the artist if he’d be interested in collaborating with Shorebreak and Hot Tuna on some designs. Maas said it was a full circle moment for him and some of the staff when he agreed to design a series for the restaurants.
“I wore these shirts all the time. All my friends wore them, too,” Maas said. “It’s a Virginia Beach icon. His designs are uniquely Virginia Beach.”
The new designs will take locals back to the 1980s with a similar cast of retro characters.
“The new Shorebreak design is a modern interpretation of the iconic original gang I drew back in 1983 while stationed in Virginia Beach,” Danny O said. “ It has a few tweaks from JB Maas at the buzzer.”
I’m sure these new shirts will be added to many local T-shirt collections. For me, it’s pure nostalgia and old school cool.
“When I saw the designs, they were even better than I expected,” Maas said. “They bring back lots of memories.”
Go to Shorebreak or Hot Tuna to grab one of these cool designs or order them online.
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