The wisdom of the Jersey Shore awning guy
Years ago, people sat on their front porches talking to neighbors. Not anymore.
Back in the day, says Bernie Soto Jr., 69, the family awning business started by his late father was doing 700 houses every season. Houses had porches. People talked to their neighbors. There was a little space between houses. Air flowed. Shade mattered.
Now, the Atlantic City-based Soto company is down to 400 houses where the awnings go up every summer. The new homes aren’t built for it, never mind the impact of central air on things like awnings, transoms, and ceiling fans, devaluing the very concept of the ocean breeze.
We spoke with Soto recentlyabout the changes.
Are awnings going out of style at the Shore?
Soto: More people are kind of going for indoor areas rather than outdoor. Years ago, everybody would be on their front porch, they communicated with their neighbors. Nowadays, a majority of them are indoors.
When they’re rebuilding their houses, they’re not putting porches on them. They are more on the inside of the house rather than outside. People just aren’t getting awnings.
The new houses are just built differently?
It’s a different kind of look. In Ocean City, everything’s straight up. There’s no aesthetic look to it. Nothing looks nice like the old houses. They have front lawns, setbacks from the curb. They have room around each house, around 20 feet.
Nowadays, everything is about as close as you get to that neighbor. Then they get shades. They don’t go for awnings as much.
So the houses are right on top of neighboring houses, but nobody’s talking to each other.
People are on the inside rather than the outside. They had big lots and subdivided them. So there’s two houses on one lot. We have a few customers, it’s like 339a and 339b, they had to give new addresses.
Do people even consider awnings for the big new houses?
They don’t have them in mind. A lot of them can’t even accept awnings the way the houses are made. They don’t put trim around the windows a lot of time. Windows are built in the opening.
You dad passed away in late August of 2009 at the age of 83. Tell me more about him.
He started the business in 1962. He had worked with his boss, who rumor had it was the original awning guy in the area. My father started to work with him after World War II. He had the courage to open up his own business. He went to a bank. Didn’t have collateral. The bank took a chance on him, told him he had a silver spoon, as far as all the customers who would go with you. They always liked his work and they liked him.
Are you still going up the ladders yourself?
I go up step ladders. Hopefully I have enough sense not to go up extension ladders.
Is there a third generation Soto to take over?
No. My father’s boss was the same way. No kids. That’s how my father took over. I’ll work till I can’t do it anymore.
For the people who still have awnings, what are the latest trends? It used to be everyone’s awnings were green striped.
Right now, the last five or six years, they seem to be blue patterns. Solid blues. Striped patterns with blue. That’s the trend. Years ago, 15, 20 years ago, greens were very popular.