Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anthony Pretto. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Anthony , thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
Kobey’s Swap Meet is a San Diego Staple! We’ve been around for over 40 years! Founded by my grandfather Monte Kobey in 1976 at the old Midway Drive In Theater we started with only 13 sellers & a few hundred shoppers. In August of 1980 we moved to our current location which is the Pechanga Arena (San Diego Sports Arena). That is when Kobey’s Swap Meet blossomed to become one of San Diego’s most visited tourist & shopping destinations.
Today Kobey’s sees over 1000 vendors weekly and over 15,000 shoppers every Friday – Saturday – Sunday! Over 750,000 people attended Kobeys in 2021!
IDEA – Host a Sneaker & Vintage Swap meet
In March 2019 I was watching YouTube Videos of the very popular convention that is called Sneakercon and saw the crowds of people and the demographics of the customers that attended and I thought to myself wouldn’t it be cool if Kobeys could host a Sneaker Swap Meet.
So I thought about the idea and pitched my parents the concept of hosting a Speciality Swap meet in conjunction with our regular swap meet that catered to Sneakers & Vintage Clothing. Our First event was hosted in June of 2019 and we recruited over 75 snekaer & vintage Clothing vendors and attracted over 7,000 shoppers.
Our most recent Sneaker & Vintage Clothing Swap Meet was held on Saturday December 11th and we had over 300 Specilality vendors in attendance and had a customer attendance well over 10,000 people.
This event attracts people from as far as Los Angeles , Las Vegas , Dallas , Phoenix , New Mexico , Oregon , Washington and more!
Our event as grown so much we have nicknamed it “America’s Largest Outdoor Sneaker & Vintage Clothing Swap Meet!” Which we believe is true because all the other sneaker conventions are held indoors .
Kobey’s Sneaker & Vintage Clothing Swap meet is essentially = Sneaker Swap Meet + Vintage Clothing Swap Meet + Regular Swap Meet / Flea Market!
For 2022 we are planning to host 5 different Sneaker & Vintage Clothing Swap Meets starting with Saturday March 12th , followed by May , July , October , December!
We try and make it a true experience by bringing in Local DJs , Speciality Food Trucks , Art Installations , Chalk Artists and all hosting all the top Social media influencers in the industry.
We work alongside some of the biggest YouTubers in the sneaker world! They come to Kobeys to purchase inventory for their stores. Most notably is Cam’s Kicks who is based in Dallas , Tx and has following of over 150,000 subscribers on YouTube. Additionally Common Hype from Peoria, AZ has over 150,000 subscribers on YouTube has filmed a video of shopping at Kobeys the last 3 events there videos have seen over 1 Million views!
Its our belief that Swap Meets are a great place for Aspiring entrepreneurs to kick start their business, project and why not start with Kobeys! As we enter into 2022 the landscape for finding new customers is so tough but we believe that by hosting speciality markets like our Sneaker & Vintage Clothing Swap Meet it will allow us to stay more relevant in the coming years!
Weve operated on the parking lot of the sports arena for 42 years and we are hoping to be their for another 42 years!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Born into the Business!
Anthony Pretto
Vice President of Operations for Kobey’s Swap Meet
34 years old
Married – Twin Daughters (4 1/2 Sofia & Isabella)
Lifer of Francis Parker School
When I was born I was the Gerber baby for our family business! My parents and family used me as the face for our “Born to Shop” Advertising campaign.
I didn’t get involved in actually working for the family business until after High School.
After High School and as I was attending college I started working the summers at Kobeys and fell in love!
I don’t know of another place where you get to interact with some interesting people! Kobey’s is a true melting pot of San Diegans! You never know who might wanna shop or sell at Kobeys! It could be a person living paycheck to paycheck or a NBA Champion looking sneakers & vintage clothing.
As time went on I wanted to get more involved with the day to day operations and learn from two of my biggest mentors! My parents! Not many people get to say that get to work alongside their mom and dad everyday!
My mom Kimberly has led our business since 1989 which is when my grandfather tragically passed away due to a tainted blood transfusion.
My Father Chuck is a attorney by trade but he is truly a jack of all trades! Not only does he led all our negotiations with the City & Sports Arena but he is also our IT department , assists our maintenance staff and he drives our trailers in the afternoons when its Time to tear down the swap meet.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Kobey’s Swap Meet I truly believe is a resilent business! Our business reacts different than others. During the pandemic we were shut down for 10 weeks and applied for PPP Loan which we received and allowed us to bring back out staff.
Once we were approved by the city ,county and state to reopen our customers and vendors were ready!
Because of the pandemic people are looking for new ways & forms of entertainment!
Kobey’s Swap Meet is a perfect activity!
Kobey’s is 100% Outdoors – very safe environment
We are very affordable! Admission is only $1 on Fridays & $2 on Saturday- Sunday
Kobey’s is a perfect place to turn stuff into CASH! – Have a garage sale, Kickstart a Business! – Vendor Spaces – $25 on Friday & $50 on Saturday or Sunday
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
The chapter is still unfinished!
Currently the city of San Diego is considering redeveloping the Sports Arena and the surrounding Property.
In Late 2021 the city requested that developers submit a Mixed use project that not only included a Entertainment venue but also housing , retail and commercial spaces.
As of right now the city is reviewing the 5 proposals that were submitted and hope to select a preferred developer sometime in the next 6 months.
Pivot Point!
Kobey’s has learned over our 42 years we must always be filling to adapt and change!
Whether it was in 2000 during the .com boom of the internet
Big Box Discount Stores
Launch of Ebay , Craigslist and other e-commerce websites
But our next big pivot will be the redevelopment of the sports arena.
But like starting this question I dont know the outcome but we can be optimistic that it will allow Kobeys to evolve once again!
We believed that in the new project Kobeys will take on a new persona- Whether it be catering to speciality markets , operating both indoors & outdoors , operating in a parking garage.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kobeyswap.com
- Instagram: @kobeysswapmeet @kobeyssneakervintage
- Facebook: @kobeyswap
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-p-24906159
- Twitter: @kobeys
- Youtube: Kobey’s TV
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kobeys-swap-meet-san-diego