By Andy Thompson
Around the same time Outside Magazine named Richmond its “Best River Town” in September 2012, Matt Perry and his crew at Riverside Outfitters were wrapping up their first season operating the Brown’s Island Outpost.
Rentals of kayaks, standup paddleboards, and mountain bikes from the island better known as a music venue had gone well, but not amazingly.
“It was initially an experiment, and we mitigated the downside by only being open Friday to Sunday,” Perry says.
Business increased slightly the second year, and then Perry decided to take what felt like a leap of faith. Last year, from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends, the Outpost was open seven days a week.
“It was a bigger risk deciding to go from three to seven days a week,” says Perry, Riverside Outfitters’ president since 2007. “The downside of [being open] Monday through Thursday was pretty significant. But now that that has panned out, I’m feeling really happy about being down there and being a part of that scene.”
If it was part of the scene the first two years, it’s safe to say RO’s Outpost is very much a driver of the scene today.
Last summer, they had more than 2,300 SUP (standup paddleboards), mountain bike, and single and tandem kayak rentals — up from just over 900 in 2013. How does Perry explain that kind of a jump?
“I think it was word of mouth that came from a greater awareness that we were down there. And then the second thing was that … when people call the main shop inquiring about [rentals], we have the ability to send them down to Brown’s Island. The first two years we didn’t really talk it up on the phone very much. We were still sending people down to Huguenot Flatwater. It really wasn’t until last year that it dawned on us.”
Last year employees at the Outpost began collecting zip codes from every customer, and while he hasn’t examined those results scientifically, Perry says they broke down about 50/50 Central Virginians versus out-of-towners. But, interestingly, “even many of the Central Virginians, it was their first or second experience doing anything recreational downtown.”
In 2015, the Outpost opened over Memorial Day Weekend, and the results point to a very busy summer. “Saturday through Monday was pretty darn wire-to-wire booked,” notes Perry.
Mountain bikes rent for $10 per hour, and SUPs and kayaks are $15 an hour. The shop is open from 11 am. to 6 p.m. with the last rentals starting at 5 p.m.
New this summer, the Outpost will offer guided “walk-up whitewater” trips Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. For $25 per person, RO guides will take paddlers in inflatable kayaks — a.k.a. “duckies” — from Brown’s Island to the 14th Street Takeout, navigating the famous Pipeline Rapids section in between.
“I’m not arrogant enough to say there was nothing to do and we brought the gift of river recreation to Brown’s Island,” Perry says. “But I definitely believe we’ve significantly increased the amount of entertainment on Brown’s Island by being down there.”