About Us

Delmarva's largest store of nautical gifts, fudge and shells on the shore.

With 10,000 square feet of gifts and more,
plus pages of online shopping galore.

History of the Sea Shell Shop

Family-Friendly Focus

Having always been a family business, Patty says the key to the store’s enduring success through the generations is the work ethic passed down from her parents to her and her sons. Today, the Sea Shell Shop is owned by the third generation of the family.

Carrying on Tradition

The Sea Shell Shop opened in Florida in the early 1950s when Patty Derrick’s mother, Ginny, started selling jewelry she made with seashells from the beach. Since then, the store has expanded to offer a variety of beach-themed products from more than 1,000 vendors.

Creating a Community

By getting involved in the Downtown Business Association (now called Main Street), the family helped create events to bring people into Rehoboth Beach all year long. The store and the work the family has done has aided in establishing Rehoboth as a vacation destination known as “The Nation’s Summer Capital,” attracting an estimated 9 million tourists every year.

The Current Route One Store

The Sea Shell Shop’s current location on Coastal Highway was the fifth store that Tom and Patty opened in Rehoboth Beach and their largest, spanning 10,000 square feet. The new store was the first free-standing gift shop on Route One when it opened in 1996, about 2.5 miles away from the downtown boardwalk.

A Third Generation Family Business

Once upon a time in 1953, some 40 years plus ago, Mama and Papa Sea Shell had two little shops by the sea, the first in Ft. Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida, and later a second in Ocean City, Maryland. As time went by, Papa Sea Shell passed away into the heavens and there sprang the birth of a new Sea Shell Shop on the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

The business continued to grow, peaking at five locations along the coast at one time. The retail business has since gradually consolidated into one location, while adding additional shell-centered attractions, like Shell We Bounce, as Patty’s sons lead the family legacy into the third generation.

Come visit the famous "Shell We Golf" miniature golf course and the largest gift shop on Route One, opened in 1996. We are a family business and are always happy to have you and your family in our shops. And, as always, "little hands are always welcome at the Sea Shell Shop."