Del Mar Village Small Business Spotlight: Willis Allen Real Estate
Del Mar Village Small Business Spotlight: Willis Allen Real Estate
Welcome to our business spotlight blog series, in which we interview the folks behind your favorite Del Mar Village businesses. We hope you learn something new and stop in soon!
Get to know Willis Allen Real Estate
Andy Nelson, President/CEO
Tell us your backstory: What was your path to owning a business in Del Mar Village? Did you grow up here? Why did you choose Del Mar Village to set up shop?
I was raised in Del Mar. I had the benefit of the ocean and beach when living in a rental my parents had leased in the 1800 block of Ocean Front. The house was owned by a renowned SD family, the Fletchers, and they only rented it to our family for nine months to take advantage of the more financially lucrative summer race season.
The old Del Mar pier was there and we as 9/10 year olds loved to climb up to the end of the pier and jump in the ocean. I played beach volleyball, went to Del Mar elementary school and loved the small rural aspect of Del Mar. We had moved there from Point Loma because, if you can believe it, Del Mar was much cheaper! Our post office box was 304...we didn't have mail delivery.
A fond memory that I'll always cherish is associated with a former Del Mar restaurant. My dad was in the meat business and was a good friend of George Bullington, who started Bully's restaurant. My father passed away in 1968, and George Bullington opened his Del Mar location less than 1 year later. When he opened, he insisted on giving my mother free meals for decades.
Tell us about your business. What should people know about it? What makes it unique?
I'm proud that Willis Allen Real Estate has been serving San Diego County since 1914. It always was, and continues to be, a privately owned brokerage that truly loves Del Mar and the surrounding communities. Willis Allen, the man, was himself a great San Diegan.
What is one product or service you are most known for or is particularly special to you?
Real estate is an industry rife with competition and all kinds of characters. At Willis Allen, while certainly focused on the success of our business, we hold integrity and professionalism above all else. We truly believe in doing what's best for our clients, which is why we refer to our sales team as "advisors" and not "sales agents.”
Tell us one fun fact about your business most people don't know.
Our present office location used to be the Del Mar Drugstore. As a child, I would ride my bike there often to pick up stuff for my mom. The pharmacist, Mr. Giordano, was very personable and his daughter, Betty, went to high school with me... she is now my landlord in that [office] location!
What do you love about Del Mar Village?
Outside of the many memories that Del Mar Village holds, I love the sense of community that has always abounded. Even though many decades have passed since my childhood there, with even more buildings and homes going up in that same span, the heart of Del Mar remains exactly as it always has: a community of neighbors with strong connections to one another and the space within which they live.
How would you spend the perfect day in Del Mar? Where would you go? What would you eat or do?
My perfect Day in Del Mar is to walk the main street and recall the memories, to still see the houses on the hill that were rented by my parents and to walk the great beach at low tide.