Sun of the Desert, a general store located in Twentynine Palms, California, is a grand homage to the items and fixtures that partners and co-owners Damien Merino and Jimmy Brower grew up on. “We tap into things that are deeply nostalgic to us — vintage jeans, workwear, old sports gear, and things that our dads would have in their garage,” explained Brower. This nostalgia is represented in the curated collection of apparel, accessories, handmade apothecary, and cool finds the store prides itself on selling.
Both co-owners come from a background in corporate retail, working at companies like Gap and Urban Outfitters, and they’ve leveraged their historical knowledge of the industry to help set their business apart. For Sun of the Desert, this means that every merchandise layout has its own personality, and both of their locations have a one-of-a-kind community feel. Community, whether it’s with customers or other business owners in the area, keeps the business going. The latter was especially instrumental in helping them find their first and second store spaces. As the community rallied around the business and propelled it forward, Merino and Brower readied for growth and looked to Square tools for solutions.
Starting point: Bridging the gap between pop-up events and brick and mortar
Merino and Brower started in entrepreneurship with what they described as a “pocketful of dongles.” The Square Reader helped them process payments at pop-ups and events, but once they committed to a physical location, they branched out into mainstay tools, such as Square for Retail and Square Online, to help solidify their business in-store and online. But the co-owners noted that a small portion of their physical space was still reserved for items sold by the previous owner, and they were ready to take full creative control of an environment that was 100% Sun of the Desert.
When the duo was shown a vacancy in the area, their hope for a second space became realized. The rent was within reach, and they reviewed their business performance in-depth in the Square Dashboard to ensure that taking on a new location wouldn’t be a detriment to their cash flow. “We could look back on sales and see the increase year over year. And so I think the math [and insights] behind it made us feel secure in making the decision [to expand],” said Merino.
Current point: Empowering staff and scaling with ease
In 2024 they expanded to their second location. With Square tools the training for new staff proved relatively painless. “There was very minimal training impact to our businesses. Other platforms can be clunky and take days, and time is money. Square alleviated that problem,” echoed Brower. Merino expressed that the tools empower staff to operate independently, leaving the co-owners more time to handle managing the business. “With our team it’s very intuitive. They can do more stuff on Square than I can,” said Merino.
Staff is able to pass this sense of empowerment on to customers. In the midst of their growth journey, the co-owners added Square Loyalty to their list of tools in order to turn their shoppers into brand loyalists. Brower noted that the tool has been beneficial for customers because “the interface is very seamless for customers, and it’s easy for [staff] to explain,” creating an easy experience on both sides of the register. Brower added: “Square has done a great job just with the inner workings of making [Square Loyalty] accessible for both the store owner as well as the customer.”
Impact: A growing business, uninterrupted
Adopting more Square tools has also had unexpected benefits for Sun of the Desert by creating more options for the co-owners when they need it most. During the 2025 California wildfires, Sun of the Desert experienced several power outages, despite being more than 150 miles away from the immediate impacted area. As a result, Merino and Brower relied on the Tap to Pay function on their phone to continue processing payments as usual.
“Because of our Square app, we still have [our business] on our phone, and we can charge customers that way. It’s this seamless [checkout] experience on the phone even for the customer to tap and pay and get the receipt. Nothing feels interrupted. … The phone app for our point-of-sale system is great,” Merino said.
Keeping the business running smoothly is paramount for Sun of the Desert. With the second location opening less than six months ago, Merino and Brower are examining ways to further solidify both business locations. The duo is even looking into the Square App Marketplace for third-party integrations, like Dor, which can build on current data and insights already available through Square to fuel more pronounced growth. “For us, it’s always been Square. … It feels like we’ve grown up with [the business]. We’ve seen the evolution, the benefits, the advances, the support, and the real respect for businesses,” explained Brower.
