The world has changed in the three decades since Elaine Barse opened The Green Room, the Vineyard Haven mainstay offering surf supplies, skating gear and clothing. Fashions changed and the Internet arrived, changing the shopping experience forever.
But despite all that, The Green Room has remained a year-round destination for in-person shopping. At the end of May, the store held a birthday party to celebrate the trip and thank its customers. The event was casual and energetic, just like the store itself.
Ms. Barse grew up in Connecticut and earned a degree in English literature from Smith College in 1988. She moved to the Vineyard after college, not yet knowing how her future would unfold. She tried various jobs, including working in restaurants and placing advertisem*nts for the Vineyard Gazette.
Eventually, she found her way to Peck’s Bad Boy, a skate and surf shop owned by Neil Peck.
Store celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in May. — Ray Ewing
“I did all sorts of things with him, and then he decided to do something else and wanted me to buy the business,” Ms. Barse said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t just swing it and buy it. I spent another year working.
Mr. Barse took a manager position at LeRoux Clothing, learning more about the retail business while saving enough money to strike out on his own.
She opened The Green Room in 1994. Its first location was on Spring Street in Vineyard Haven. The beginnings were not easy.
“I was talking to Chris (Ms Barse’s life partner) and he said to me, ‘I remember you were crying the first day you opened. You were sobbing at the end of the day from the stress,” Ms. Barse said.
Ms. Barse persevered and the business continued to grow. In 2003, she moved The Green Room to Main Street, taking over the location of her former workplace, LeRoux Clothing, which was then owned by Ray Rourke.
Since the beginning, The Green Room has been dedicated to outdoor living.
With more space, more opportunities. She moved the surf and skateboard store to the ground floor of the new location, decorating it to resemble the original store. On the upper floor, she began selling clothing, expanding the store’s reach. The clothing offered was casual, which Barse said worked in her favor as casual styles become more acceptable in work environments.
“I look at it as if The Green Room has grown,” Ms. Barse said. “The kid who went shopping with me when he was 14 is now 34 and might be married with a kid or might want a nice shirt to go out to dinner with.”
In 2021, she opened The Shoe Store a few doors down the street.
Barse attributes the store’s success to its loyal customers, the majority of whom are permanent Island residents. She and her employees have built relationships with customers over the years, meeting their needs as spending habits have changed over the years.
“Back when I first opened, people bought Patagonia by catalog,” Ms. Barse said. “Now they search online, they read reviews.”
A Vineyard Haven mainstay for year-round shopping. — Ray Ewing
As a result, customers are better informed about what they’re looking for when they enter the store, Ms. Barse said, adding that the smaller brands sold at The Green Room provide a curated shopping experience.
Customers aren’t the only ones who come back. Many permanent and seasonal employees have worked at the store for years, including general manager and buyer Belinda Ritchie, who has worked at The Green Room for more than two decades.
“It’s a comfortable job. It’s still stimulating. I love the people I work with and the customers who come,” Ms Ritchie said.
Ms. Ritchie helped introduce frequent buyer cards to attract repeat customers: for every four pairs of shoes, the fifth is 40 percent off.
“It comes from skate shoes because kids use them so quickly,” Ms Ritchie said. “Parents were going to the store to buy a new pair of shoes every couple of months and I said to Elaine, why don’t we create some sort of frequent buyer card to entice them to come? Now, this doesn’t just apply to skate shoes.
Ms Barse said she looks back on the changes and challenges of operating The Green Room with joy and disbelief.
“I am very grateful to have had this opportunity in my life,” Ms. Barse said. “It’s crazy, to a certain extent, but incredible.”
