The world has changed in the three decades since Elaine Barse opened The Green Room, the Vineyard Haven mainstay offering surfing supplies, skating gear and clothing. Fashions have shifted and the internet arrived, changing the shopping experience forever.

But through it all, The Green Room has remained a year-round destination for in-person shopping. At the end of May the store held a 30-year anniversary party to celebrate the journey and thank their customers. The event was laid back and energetic, much like the store itself.

Ms. Barse grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Smith College in 1988 with a degree in English literature. She moved to the Vineyard after college not sure yet how her future would unfold. She tried a variety jobs, including working at restaurants and placing advertisements 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 three decade anniversary in May. — Ray Ewing

“I did all kinds of stuff 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 to buy it. I spent another year working.”

Mr. Barse took a job as a manager of LeRoux Clothing, learning more about the retail business while saving up enough money to go out on her own.

She opened The Green Room in 1994. Its first location was on Spring street in Vineyard Haven. The early days were not easy.

“I was chatting with Chris [Ms. Barse’s life partner] and he was like, ‘I remember you crying the first day you opened. You were sobbing at the end of the day from 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 place of work, LeRoux Clothing, which was then owned by Ray Rourke.

From the beginning, The Green Room has been dedicated to outdoor life.

With more room came more opportunities. She moved the surf and skateboarding shop to the bottom floor of the new location, decorating it to resemble the original store. On the upper floor, she began to sell clothing, expanding the scope of the store’s focus. The clothes on offer were casual, which Ms. Barse said worked in her favor as laid back styles become more acceptable in work environments.

“I look at it like The Green Room grew up,” Ms. Barse said. “The kid who shopped with me when he was 14, now he’s 34 and might be married with a kid or he might want to have a nice shirt to go out to dinner with.”

In 2021, she opened The Shoe Store a few doors down the street.

Ms. Barse attributes the store’s success to her repeat customers, the majority of whom are year-round Island residents. She and her employees have built relationships with the customers over the years, meeting their needs as consumer habits have changed over the years.

“Back when I first opened, people shopped Patagonia by catalog,” Ms. Barse said. “Now they’re looking online, they’re reading reviews.”

A Vineyard Haven mainstay for year-round shopping. — Ray Ewing

As a result, customers are more educated about what they are looking for when they come into the store, Ms. Barse said, adding that the smaller brands sold at The Green Room provide a curated shopping experience.

Customers are not the only people who keep coming back. Many of the year-round and seasonal employees have been with the store for years, including general manager and buyer Belinda Ritchie, who has worked at The Green Room for over two decades.

“It’s a comfortable job. It’s still stimulating. I like the people I work with and the customers that come in,” Ms. Ritchie said.

Ms. Ritchie helped institute the frequent buyer cards to entice repeat customers — for every four pairs of shoes the fifth is 40 per cent off.

“That originated with skate shoes because kids go through them so quickly,” Ms. Ritchie said. “Parents would be in the store buying a new pair of shoes every couple of months and I mentioned to Elaine, why don’t we do some sort of frequent buyer cards to keep them coming? Now it’s expanded to not just skate shoes.”

Ms. Barse said she looks back at the changes and challenges of operating The Green Room with joy and disbelief.

“I am so grateful that I’ve been given this opportunity in my life,” Ms. Barse said. “This is nuts, to a certain extent, but amazing.”