Encinitas: Our History and People

ENCINITAS
CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE
The Encinitas Chamber of Commerce was
first incorporated in 1932 but became inactive
due to the influence of the San Dieguito
Chamber of Commerce conglomerate until
1946 when Del Mar and Solana Beach formed
their own chambers and at the same time the
Cardiff-Encinitas-Leucadia Chamber was
created as explained by historian Maura
Wiegland-Harvey who often wrote about the
history of Encinitas. In 1959, Sid Shaw, who
operated Surf Dry Cleaning, and others
reactivated the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce
with the intention of exclusively promoting
businesses in the Encinitas community. The
Encinitas Chamber of Commerce played a
major role in that community, including
opposing the incorporation of a new city in
1959 which was to be called “Marbello” and
what was later incorporated to form the City
of Encinitas.
Soon the competition heated up between the
Cardiff-Encinitas-Leucadia Chamber and the
Encinitas Chamber of Commerce and eventually
escalated into the legal arena. In 1960, the court
urged the two rival organizations to combine;
they eventually merged in 1964. Since the
City of Encinitas had not yet incorporated,
there was no official local government in the
area. As a result, the newly merged chamber
grew to be a major force, taking on
responsibilities like paving alleys and even
petitioning for a second traffic light on Highway
101, amongst others.
The Encinitas Chamber of Commerce has
been advocating for and promoting a healthy
and prosperous business environment for over
fifty years and is still focused today on its
mission to help local businesses grow and
thrive. The Chamber helps connect the
community with City officials and provides
many opportunities each year for business
owners to participate in the original form of
networking. Annually, it hosts the State of the
City Address, the Salute to Education, and the
Encinitas Oktoberfest.
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