Darren Bush’s appearance was relatively brief.
The owner of Rutabaga Paddlesports shook a few hands and wielded a large scissors on Tuesday to cut the ribbon and celebrate the opening of his new $3 million sustainably constructed store along Rimrock Road.
Built with siding designed to last up to 100 years, a 55 kilowatt solar array that covers two-thirds of the roof and windows and glass doors designed to bring in natural light, the 15,000-square-foot building next to a pond is designed to last well beyond the 60-year-old Bush’s expected lifespan.
The new location of Rutabaga Paddlesports at 2620 Rimrock Road in Fitchburg includes large overhead doors that flood the store with natural light. The building also has a roof top solar array, thicker walls that better insulate the facility and outdoor siding that is likely to last for 100 years.
But he never thought he’d have to worry about not seeing the new doors open.
A heart attack the previous week while he was exercising at home led to a quick trip to the emergency room, the installation of a stent, a new regiment of rehabilitation and a limit of three hours a day at work for the next few weeks. The incident also delayed by five days the grand opening ceremony that included members of the Fitchburg business community, city officials and Tucker, an 11-year-old mixed-breed dog rescued by one of the Rutabaga staff members.
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Darren Bush has owned of Rutabaga Paddlesports for 20 years and has worked at the business for over 30 years.
“Random stuff happens,” Bush said. “I got in the hospital really quick, I live close to UW (Hospital), and they had me in an ER room almost immediately. The procedure was done within a half hour and I felt fine. Did the stress of building this have something to do with it, probably. Nothing ever goes smoothly but I have the best team in the world.”
The business is also one of the most beloved in the industry nationwide and is also responsible for Canoecopia at the Alliant Energy Center, billed as the world’s largest paddling expo, that every march draws thousands of vendors, exhibitors and paddling enthusiasts.
Karen Peterson, of DeForest, shops in the new location of Rutabaga Paddlesports on Rimrock Road in Fitchburg. The 15,000-square-foot store offers up 30% more sales floor than the former Monona location and has drive-in garage for rack installations.
Rutabaga was founded in 1974 by a group of UW-Madison students who began selling paddling and outdoor gear out of their basement. In 1976, the business moved to space at the intersection of South Park Street and Fish Hatchery Road, then to another spot a few blocks away before ultimately moving in 1991 to 220 Broadway in Monona.
The new store at 2620 Rimrock Road, just five stop lights from the Alliant Energy Center, has 30% more retail space, a spacious front checkout counter and plenty of room to show off canoes, kayaks, Duluth packs, footwear and, at this time of the year, winter gear. The products include coats, gloves, hats and snow shoes.
Rutabaga was founded in 1974 by a group of UW-Madison students who began selling paddling and outdoor gear out of their basement. In 1976, the business moved to space at the intersection of South Park Street and Fish Hatchery Road, then to another spot a few blocks away before ultimately moving in 1991 to 220 Broadway in Monona. The store will likely remain in this new facility on Rimrock Road for deades to come.
The building also features an indoor garage space where racks that can hold canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, bikes and skies can be installed year round and out of the elements.
“It’s a significant part of our business,” said Bush, who started working at Rutabaga in 1990 and purchased the business in 2002. “We were so intentional about how we did this. We really wanted to make (the building a) show piece.”
The Rutabaga Paddlesports logo on display at the check out counter. The store opened Dec. 3 and had a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday.
And more development is on the way. Bush and a business partner have plans to build a mixed use building on the property that will have three or four floors of workforce housing and a bicycle shop on the ground floor. Construction on that project could begin next summer. Meanwhile the Alexander Company is proposing to the south of Rutabaga a 45 to 60 unit, three or four story mixed use apartment building with a 12,000-square-foot Greater Heights Climbing Gym on the main level.
The projects will add more vitality to the Rimrock Road corridor between the Beltline and Highway 14, which includes the Novation Campus, high-end car dealerships, Delta Beer Lab brewery and a Summit Credit Union.
Karma Grotelueschen, left, and Randy Pfeifer, of LaValle, check out canoes on display at the new location of Rutabaga Paddlesports, 2620 Rimrock Road in Fitchburg.
“I’m just thrilled that they’re opening it up here,” Fitchburg Mayor Aaron Richardson said of Rutabaga. “It’s an established business, people know this business, love this business and they do a lot in the community as well. To have them in Fitchburg is something I couldn’t be more excited about.”
Bush selected the location because the property was adjacent to a detention pond. At his former location in Monona, Bush had Yahara Cove, a backwater of the Yahara River, which allowed his customers to test out products. The pond on Rimrock Road, named Lake George, will also allow test paddles and will host fly fishing courses since the store will sell fly fishing gear from Orvis.
Employee Steve Schmaling stocks product Tuesday at the new location for Rutabaga Paddlesports. The Fitchburg store on Rimrock Road has 30% more sales floor compared to the former Monona location.
The plan is to ultimately stock the pond with trout. Bush has invested $35,000 on an oxygenation system designed to clean the water and raise oxygen levels, something needed for trout, which are more fragile than largemouth bass and bluegill and a nearly 3-foot-long goldfish nicknamed Moby that has been spotted in the 8-foot deep, 2 1/2 acre pond.
The oxygenation system, which unlike an aerator will allow the pond’s surface to freeze and provides more oxygen, sits on the bottom of the pond and is powered by a compressor on the side of the building.
“It just runs. And when it gets to 15% to 18% dissolved oxygen it shuts off and when the oxygen drops it kicks on again,” Bush said. “It’s run by our solar array so it’s also carbon neutral.”
Photos: Menominee River
Menominee River
Bass anglers work a stretch of the Menominee River last week near Bear Point in Marinette County.
Menominee River
Signs like this are common along the Menominee River in Marinette County and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A Canadian company wants to build a mine near the river, but is facing fierce opposition.
Menominee River
Gabe Stelzer speaks with fellow fishing guide Nate Sipple just prior to smallmouth bass fly fishing trips on the Menominee River. The pair guide for Tight Lines Fly Fishing Shop out of De Pere and work an 80-mile stretch of the river that borders Wisconsin and Michigan.
Menominee River
Fly fishing is big business on the Menominee River. The interior of Gabe Stelzer’s pick up truck displays some of the flies used to attract smallmouth bass.
Menominee River
Gabe Stelzer, 21, is in his second year of guiding on the Menominee River for Tight Lines Fly Fishing Shop. Stelzer, who owns his own drift boat, can spend more than eight hours a day guiding clients from around the country who come to chase smallmouth bass.
Menominee River
Gabe Stelzer launches his drift boat last week on the Michigan side of the Menominee River just below the Upper Peninsula’s Grand Rapids power dam.
Menominee River
Fishing guide Gabe Stelzer brings his drift boat into shore as he prepares for a seven mile, eight hour trip down the Menominee River.
Menominee River
Jason Klein, of Madison, makes a cast with his fly rod last week as guide Gabe Stelzer offers up pointers in pursuit of smallmouth bass on the Menominee River. A Canadian company wants to build a gold and zinc mine near the river, but is facing fierce opposition from anglers, environmental groups, local citizens and Native American tribes.
Menominee River
A wide range of flies can be used to catch smallmouth bass on the Menominee River but these top water baits are among the more popular.
Menominee River
Guide Gabe Stelzer holds a smallmouth bass caught by a client last week using a fly rod on the Menominee River.
Menominee River
Gabe Stelzer, a fishing guide for Tight Lines Fly Shop in De Pere, releases a smallmouth bass caught by a client on the Menominee River in Marinette County.
Menominee River
A drift boat makes it way down the Menominee River last week.
Menominee River
Gabe Stelzer rows his drift boat down the Menominee River as he puts his clients in position to cast for smallmouth bass. Stelzer, a guide for Tight Lines Fly Fishing Co. in De Pere, is concerned about a proposed mine that could be built next to the river in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Menominee River
The Menominee River winds 116 miles along the boarder of northeastern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Menominee River
Kayakers, right, paddle down the Menominee River.
Menominee River
A collection of flies in the drift boat owned by guide Gabe Stelzer.
Menominee River
A pair of kayakers paddle the Menominee River last week along the Wisconsin/Michigan border.
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