MISSION BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) — As the extreme heat bears down on San Diego County, many people are hitting the beach to cool off.
After an unusually gloomy past few months, businesses in Mission Beach are finally seeing those summer crowds.
"You would get a little bit of May Gray, a little bit of June Gloom, but it wasn't every single day. This year it was solid every single day, and it took forever for it to go," Skyler McManus said.
McManus is the General Manager of Hamel's Bike and Skate Rentals near the beach.
He said they sold sweatshirts to get through the slow season.
It was fun to sell all the sweatshirts, but now we're switching over to tank tops, bikinis and everything else that we sell," he said.
Unlike the mountains and deserts, the coast was not under an Excessive Heat Warning Thursday.
Many people took advantage of the coastal breeze and sunny weather to catch a wave or lounge in the sand.
"If the weather is hot, the weather is nice, we're busy," said Mike Soltan.
Soltan owns Kojacks restaurant and an ice cream shop next to Hamel's. He said he's glad to see business start to pick up after a longer-than-usual slow season.
“It was kind of disappointing cause we wait all winter for spring break and it wasn't that good with the weather, but thank God we’re doing better," Soltan said.
Businesses hope the busy season is extra long this year to make up for what seemed like a long winter.
"This is my prediction. It's going to be sunny and warm through October, which will be good for us," McManus said.
