Press Release
Media Contact:
Rich Hage, General Manager
The Jersey Paddler
P (732) 458-5777
F (732) 458-5666
rich@jerseypaddler.com
The Jersey Paddler is a family owned business run by John Durrua and built by a family with a passion for paddling and exploring new places.
In 1958 John’s father, Walter Havens Durrua (Walt), took over his father’s gas station on the Jersey Shore in Brick, NJ. As an avid outdoorsman, Walt thought it would be a great idea to rent canoes to area vacationers. Walt then began to sell a few boats and realized he had developed quite a following. His passion for paddling and exploring the outdoors fueled his desire for others to share this experience. With the growing popularity of kayaking and paddlesports, Walt’s business began to boom and after 33 years of operation in the same location, it was time to expand.
In the fall of 1991, The Jersey Paddler opened its doors at its present site on the corner of Rt. 70 and Rt. 88, just next to the original store. With a surface area of 7,200-square feet, The Jersey Paddler is now one of the largest canoe & kayak stores in the country stocking over 1,000 new and used boats year round. It has become a full service retail supplier offering apparel, accessories and other merchandise related to paddlesports, world travel, camping and outdoor lifestyle from leading manufacturers around the world.
Every year for the last 47 years, The Jersey Paddler hosts “Paddlesport”, the East Coast’s largest kayak, canoe and outdoor consumer show in March. Over 100 exhibitors ranging from leading kayak, canoes and accessory manufacturers, to local guides and outfitters gather together at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset, NJ to present new products and generate the same excitement that Walt had (and still has) for the sport many years ago.
John, an accomplished touring and whitewater paddler, started working at the store at age thirteen and has been involved in the business ever since. In 2003, he took over the helm of The Jersey Paddler while Walt continues to travel the world adding to his impressive list of exotic places he has paddled. Today, The Jersey Paddler draws customers from the surrounding local communities of the Jersey shore, as well as from the entire Mid-Atlantic region. The store holds frequent seminars on paddling and the outdoors, and invites its customers to test any of the canoes and kayaks on the Forge Pond across the street from the store. Currently fifteen avid paddlers man the floor to ensure consumers have a successful buying experience.
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