ABOUT BEACH ZERO
Who?Beach Zero is Kathy and Tom Carlotti; a husband and wife team.
Prior to opening their store, Kathy worked as a dental assistant, a professional secretary and (once the kids started coming) a stay at home mom. Tom spent 32 years in law enforcement, retiring in 2014 as the local chief of police.
What?
Beach Zero is a souvenir/gift shop located at the entrance to Presque Isle State Park, a 3,112-acre peninsula on Lake Erie that offers visitors seven miles of sandy beaches. The beaches are identified by number, ranging from Beach One to Beach Eleven; hence the name “Beach Zero”.
When / Where?Beach Zero is a seasonal shop that opens every year on the Friday before Memorial Day and operates five days per week through Labor Day. After Labor Day, Beach Zero is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday through September.
Located at 83 Peninsula Drive in Erie Pennsylvania, Beach Zero sits 500 feet from the entrance to Presque Isle State Park. Just look to your right after you pass under the roller coaster spanning Route 832 (Peninsula Drive) and you’ll see our sign.
Why?
Why not?
Anything Else?
Before opening Beach Zero, Kathy and Tom had no experience in the “retail” market. Despite that, they wanted to offer local residents and visitors to Erie a convenient place to stop for ice, beach supplies, snacks for the beach, or a keepsake souvenir. Beach Zero is the textbook definition of a “mom and pop” operation. Kathy and Tom own and operate the store and with the exception of a few friends and family members who pop in to lend a hand when needed, they have no additional employees.
They did have one employee who worked with them from 2008 through 2018.
He was the head of store security and Beach Zero’s goodwill ambassador. He won the “Employee of the Month” award every month, for eleven straight years (which wasn’t too hard to do, since he was the only employee), but non-the-less, he deserved every one of those honors!
Visitors to the store loved spending time with him and many traveled hundreds of miles just to see him. He was a gentle giant and the best friend anybody could ever have. Sadly, he passed away on February 18, 2019.
He will be missed terribly.
Caesar Carlotti – Beach Zero Head of Security and Goodwill Ambassador
(he’s the one on the right!)
Need a few celebrity endorsements to convince you to stop by?
