Ya know, just the other day a good friend of mine asked me just where did the name for Smilin' Jake's come from and just what possessed me to put a "Hawaiian" clothing store in Rock Hall. (As for those that don't know where Rock Hall, MD is that's another time and another story.)
I said man, I thought everyone know who "Jake" was. Well it all started with the local video store. I walked in there one night to drop off a tape and this little fury thing came bounding out from behind the counter. Seems the owners had this Keeshond that just had a litter of pups. Well, we played with him a bit and said see ya, I have a movie to watch. Well, took the tape back the next day and there was this ball of fur again and that was it, he had a new home. Now for the name, he was pure bred so he needed a proper name which after some thought it came to me, Jacob Austin Kees Esquire or JAKE. If you know keeshonds you know that they are known for their grin so the nick name Smilin' Jake was born. For you dog lovers Jake was one of the happiest and friendliest dogs you could ever know and my best friend.
As to the Hawaiian clothing in a small waterman's town on the upper Chesapeake Bay, well that started as a combination of the love of Aloha Shirts and the whole west coast car and surf scene since the 60's and living in a very cool town with the lack of shops. To me it was something like putting 1 & 1 together to equal 2. We had water and tourist which to meant lets give it a try......if nothing else I would have a good selection for my closet. Now, it was time to name the store and that was easier than deciding to open a store. There sat Jake with his typical Hawaiian print scarf on staring at me with the big toothy smile and so the name and store where born "Smilin' Jake's".
