An OC hipster tries SF

RVCA, the edgy, artists-driven, very un-OC apparel company that happens to be based in Costa Mesa, is opening its very first retail store next month at the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets in SF, taking over a spot that was long held by the Gap. Haight-Ashbury denizens are apparently happy to see the Gap go (it never really worked in that part of town), while RVCA (pronounced "RUCA") would seem to be a better fit. Some background on the company and founder Pat Tenore, courtesy of Debbie Belgum at California Apparel News:

A year after Tenore started RVCA, he pulled in fellow surfer and longtime friend Conan Hayes as a partner. Tenore’s vision was to create a design-driven brand without compromising its active-lifestyle roots. Art was an essential ingredient. The sportswear label draws its inspiration from underground graffiti writers such as Eklips and artists such as Mark Mothersbaugh, founder of the 1980s music group Devo. Tenore, in his 30s, has a long history in the retail and apparel industry. As a teenager, he was working in a surf shop called Corona Del Mar Beach Club when he met designer Austyn Zung in the 1980s. He became her scout for youth trends and got his share of lessons in sewing and designing at Zung’s studio. In 1991, he took $20,000 earmarked for college tuition and opened a 1,500-square-foot store called 145 Store in Costa Mesa. He later merged the shop into another retail operation, called Stateside. He left to launch his own label, called PM Tenore, which failed. But when he and Hayes hooked up to start RVCA, everything started to click.