Posted on 12/24/2010 4:46:52 AM PST by marktwain
Gabriele Santi thought opening up a gun store in Santa Ynez was a long shot.
Earlier this year, he was looking for spots in the Valley to start a gun dealership but wasn’t having much success with landlords.
“The moment you mention firearms, they shut the door on you,” he said. “They’d rather have the building vacant.”
Frustrated by the struggle to find rental space, Santi started knocking on doors in Santa Ynez and learned that other locals were receptive to the idea of a gun shop.
“There are a lot of hunters, and people who shoot for recreation,” he said. “It motivated me to bring my plan to completion.”
In April, Santi hit the bull’s-eye when he secured a vacant spot in the heart of Santa Ynez where his new business, 2nd Amendment Gun Shop, recently opened at 3568 Sagunto St., suite E. Santi, who has lived in Santa Ynez for five years, said the new store complements the Old West atmosphere of the town and aims to sate the steady demand for firearms.
“There is a large community of gun owners and gun-related activities such as hunting, trapshooting, skeet shooting, collecting,” he noted. “As it turned out, the landlord’s entire family is full of hunters.”
The store opened on Dec. 10 and just in time for hunting season, he said. It will carry handguns, rifles, shotguns and accessories such as carrying cases, scopes, cleaning supplies and rechargeable flashlights. Santi also helps people appraise or sell their firearm on consignment.
“As you can see, it’s a very simple set up,” Santi said, surveying his 250-square foot store housing two display cases of handguns and a wall gun rack holding seven rifles, including a special one engraved with the symbol of the Boy Scouts of America. Santi hopes to expand if all goes well. “Everything I carry at the store, I know will sell,” he explains. “I’d build my inventory, once I get a better feel for the community’s needs.”
His website is a work in progress, but customers can search through a database amounting to $24 million worth of inventory that includes firearms, accessories and gun paraphernalia. He also connected with Dan Wells, a former Air Force policeman and sheriff’s deputy, to offer customers gun safety classes. “Safety is a big concern. The fact that I sell guns doesn’t mean I’m willing to sell guns to anyone,” said Santi, his voice sharpening. “If I don’t think you should have a gun, regardless of whether you’re allowed to, you’re not buying a gun from my store.”
Santi didn’t own any guns before he started his new venture, but he’s by no means a novice shooter. He grew up in Tuscany, Italy, into a family of hunters. At 21, he served as a corporal for the Italian Army and was deployed to Beirut, Lebanon, working as an interpreter on a peacekeeping mission during the country’s civil war in the early 1980s. He was one of the first on the site after the Beirut barracks bombing that killed 299 American and French servicemen.
“I lived with modern weapons for almost 12 months. I used to go to sleep fully armed and ready,” he said. More recently, Santi worked as an armed security guard at the Port Hueneme Naval Base in Ventura.
Santi owned a mortgage company for eight years, but a downturn in the housing market compelled him to look for a new cash-flow. Despite the poor economy, gun sales are booming, he noted. “I’m not getting any younger, and it doesn’t make sense to return to the corporate world,” he said. “I’m a big believer in the Second Amendment of the Constitution.”
Hence the name of his shop.
“It’s been disputed and argued over,” said Santi, who gained U.S. citizenship in 1999. “Some people would like to scratch it off the Constitution, but it is part of our fabric as a country.”
Here’s what else the Journal learned about the gun store:
Why did you start this business? I like guns. Santa Ynez does not have a Gun shop. There is a large community of gun owners in the Valley and it is my belief that they need a store that can fulfill their needs. Furthermore, the ammunition law is going to change in February 2011; all handgun ammunition purchases have to be conducted face to face, among other things. I believe there will be a surge in sales of ammunitions.
What is your business background? I used to have a real estate and mortgage company; now I have a mortgage company in addition to the gun shop.
What is the best piece of business advice you have been given? Take it one step at a time.
What is the biggest challenge your business faces today? Gun control laws and funds to grow the business.
What is the simplest thing you’ve never learned to do? Learn to keep my mouth shut.
What sets your business apart from your competition? For those who are seeking new firearms and ammunition for self-protection, hunting, target shooting, trap shooting or more, 2nd Amendment Gun Shop is for you. The store offers new and used guns, ammunition, accessories and can also help you sell your firearm on consignment or appraise it for you. Also, if you are having trouble finding rare firearms and parts, the 2nd Amendment Gun Shop can assist you in your search. Because the safety of the community is a priority at 2nd Amendment Gun Shop, the following classes are available at a reasonable price: Fundamental Handgun Operation and Safety; Child’s Gun Safety; Family Gun Safety; Women-Only Introduction to Handgun Operation and Safety; Advanced Handgun; Defensive Handgun; Ca. CCW; Utah CCW; Florida CCW; Private instruction.
What books are on your bedside table? The Concealed Hand Gun Manual and Great Livin’ in Grubby Times: The Green Beret’s Guide to Outdoor Survival.
Why did you choose to set up your business in the Valley? My wife grew up in Santa Ynez. Five years ago, we relocated from the San Francisco Bay area to my wife’s childhood home in Santa Ynez to start a family. I want to be part of this community.
How could local elected officials make it easier for you to be successful? I had overall a positive experience with the county, everyone was willing to help me every step of the way.
Where do you see your business in five years? So far I had a lot of positive encouragement; I am planning on sticking around for the duration. I would like to have a larger inventory and be able to offer a larger selection. In five years, I would like for my business to be one of the predominant ones in the area.
Finally, what is on your to-do list? The list is a mile-long, mostly has to do with compliance with both ATF and DOJ, making sure that all is in order, and that I have all that is needed to meet the compliance requirement of both agencies.
2nd Amendment Gun Shop
Business owner: Gabriele Santi
Business address: 3568 Sagunto Street, Suite E
Business telephone: /(805) 245-8115
Business hours: Tue-Fri 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun-Mon, closed E-mail address: info@2ndAmendmentGunShop.com Website: www.2ndAmendmentGunShop.com jfoster@syvjournal.com
Good post thanks
It will be tough to compete with .com sites like trapshooters, gun broker and the rest, but good luck.
PS always on the look out for 12 ga Remington Gun club 8s $4.95 a box. The wife and I go thru them like a fat man cuts thru a cookie jar
This part sticks in my craw for some reason:
“...
The fact that I sell guns
doesn’t mean I’m willing to sell guns to anyone,”
said Santi, his voice sharpening.
“If I don’t think you should have a gun,
regardless of whether you’re allowed to,
you’re not buying a gun from my store.”
...”
Mine too but it could be just talk as he is telling potential naer-do-wells don’t even try. Best of luck to him.
I didn’t know they still sold working guns in Kalefornia. I thought the gun stores had all been converted to pot and t-shirt shops. I still can’t believe that anyone would want to open a business in Kalefornia.
I wish him the best and hope that the people who buy guns from him understand the purpose of the Second Amendment, because they are likely to encounter it’s importance well before the rest of us.
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