About Us
Soft As A Grape
Celebrating 50 Years!! 🎉
Soft As A Grape, Inc is an award winning clothing and apparel company headquartered in Wareham, Massachusetts. This is our 50th year in business and we invite you to celebrate with us at one of our many stores. Come see for yourself how our quality clothing and apparel line and our great prices have made us successful for half a century!
From Humble Beginnings 👕
Back in 1972, our CEO and founder, Allen Katzen decided to make a career change from being a teacher to becoming an entrepreneur with an idea to open a wine making supply business in Harvard Square. His vision met with mixed reactions from friends some of whom called him crazy, saying he was “soft as a grape” to pursue this idea. Rather than being offended, Allen thought “Hmmmm, ‘Soft As A Grape’… what a great name for my store.” So, he moved ahead with his plan and opened his new business. That first year, the wine making supply idea met with mild success. People at the time just did not want to spend time making their own wine, when they could easily purchase it. Instead of closing up shop, Allen decided to expand the store to sell games, home décor, kites, and then finally added t-shirts to his merchandise collection. He started making heat pressed shirts using transfers which resulted in his discovering that he had a passion for making and designing t-shirts.
Allen opened his first Soft As A Grape retail apparel location in Falmouth, MA in 1976. He went from selling heat transfer shirts, to opening a warehouse in Wareham. He purchased screen printing equipment, embroidery machines, and eventually digital printing machines allowing his business to make and control the quality of the product.
Business Expansion 🛍
Soft As A Grape operates 14 retail stores located in Cape Cod, Plymouth, Martha’s Vineyard, Newport, RI, Pt. Judith, RI, and Celebration, Florida. We also have the Major League Baseball License, Minor League Baseball License, and a national wholesale presence throughout the country selling our products. 50 Years later Soft As A Grape is part of the fabric of Cape Cod and the Islands. Our business has grown from single giftware retailer, to an industry leader in the design, creation, and production of resort clothing and decorated apparel. We offer our customers an excellent collection of men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing products that they can purchase and take home to remember their vacation experience.
The Grape Life 🍇
At Soft As A Grape, our goal is to source and create high quality clothing and decorated apparel that appeals to beachgoers and vacationers alike. From our on-trend vintage washed graphic tees to the soft vibrant hues of our garment dyed sweats. 50 years later, our comfortable, cotton clothing has become a well known brand name to residents and vacationers on the Cape and the Islands. Please join us in one of our stores to celebrate 50 years in business!!