Rutabaga

Monona, United States

4.4

Closed now

14 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Private Lot
Good for Kids
Yes

Description

Specialties

Rutabaga is the preeminent canoe, kayak and stand up paddle shop in the U.S. We offer hundreds of models of muscle-​propelled watercraft for all varieties of activity, from fishing to racing, tripping to day paddles on the local streams and lakes. We’re located on the water and offer test paddling every day, no appointment. We are family-​owned and operated and do the best we can to give the best service on the planet.

History

Established in 1976.

Rutabaga was started in 1976 as a small co-​op, then a small business, then a middle-​sized business. Rutabaga is owned by Darren Bush, a paddler who started working at Rutabaga in 1990 for $ 5.50 an hour. It was a hobby for him and supplemented his «pin money» to purchase gear. He came on to the business full time in 1995, and in 2002 purchased the business with his friend and business partner, Jeff Weidman. In 2007 Darren became the sole proprietor and continues to own Rutabaga (along with his wife — it’s a marital property state).

Rutabaga is well-​know for presenting Canoecopia, the world’s largest paddlesports consumer show, held every March in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Alliant Energy Center.

Rutabaga Outdoor Programs teaches paddling skills to over 1,000 students a year.

Meet the Business Owner

Darren B.

Business Owner

«If you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work.» –Kahlil Gibran

I took Kahlil at his word, and gave up a «real» job in the public sector to come here and be a paddling evangelist.

This is not how I pictured things would go (no one ever grows up thinking that someday they’ll be in retail), but I believe I am supposed to be here for a number of reasons, some too personal to discuss on a website.

Paddling is my passion, and the only thing better than paddling is getting someone else into it. It changes people’s lives, and I guess that’s why I decided to make my job my vocation.

Outside paddling I am an amateur blacksmith (Toad Forge is the name of the half of my garage that isn’t boat storage). I also am into primitive skills, and build my own snowshoes and other traditional gear. I love paddling with my family and playing chess with my children, Whitney and Ian. I have the coolest wife in the world who loves to paddle too.