Jeff Shapiro, owner of The Kayak Centre of Rhode Island, said he’s always been “a water person.”
Growing up in Philadelphia, Shapiro said his parents and grandparents frequently brought him to places on the coast. His passion continued, and while he pursued a 46-year career in periodontistry he was actively involved in a kayak tourism, rental and instructional company based in the Adirondacks that led expeditions on Lake George and Lake Champlain in New York.
After years of transporting the fleet across New England to Rhode Island-based businesses who hired the company for its instructional expertise, Shapiro opened The Kayak Centre in the Wickford village of North Kingstown in 1995.
Twenty-two years later, Shapiro is glad to be retired from dentistry and focusing full time on the kayak store. “People come here looking for fun instead of surgery, so it’s a nice environment,” he said.
This year marks a big update for The Kayak Centre. Previously located on 9 Phillips St., Shapiro decided to move the business to 70 Brown St., a handful of blocks closer to the hustle and bustle of the village center. He signed a lease for a long-vacant storefront in the small South County village with Ocean State Job Lot – now his landlord – and spent the beginning of the year renovating the space.
The move consolidated the business from three contiguous buildings to one and increased the square footage from nearly 4,000 square feet to 6,400 square feet.
The centrally located store, said Shapiro, is a one-stop shop for kayaks, paddleboards, accessories, rentals, instruction and sportswear situated between the village parking lot and overlooking the cove.
Now, The Kayak Centre has the space to sell more “soft goods” – clothing and accessory lines from brands such as Patagonia Inc., Toad&Co and Carve Designs – said Shapiro, who hopes this will entice nonpaddleboat customers to enter the store.
Shapiro also stocks paddleboats, between 110 and 120 different kayaks and paddleboards are displayed in the company’s showroom.
“We can put a person into the right product for what they want to do,” said Shapiro, comparing his selection to general outdoor sports shops that also carry tennis racquets, baseball bats and lacrosse sticks.
“We do everything but manufacture,” he said.
Shapiro said the move was necessary because “in order to ensure our growth and survival, we needed to be seen and develop a second customer base.”
At its old location, the village’s frequent nighttime events and community celebrations weren’t bringing in new customers. In fact, Shapiro described The Kayak Centre as “a destination paddle-sport location.”
Since the store wasn’t visible from the road, he added: “People who came to see us generally knew we were there.”
In the three months since the move, foot traffic has increased exponentially. “We’ve probably had more walk-in business in our new location than we would have had in a year in the old location,” Shapiro said.
While he could not compare month-to-month or year-to-year sales because of the volatile impact of weather on outdoor-sporting shops, Shapiro said ... a larger store allows for greater stock of soft-goods merchandise in the store.
OWNER: Jeff Shapiro
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Paddle-sport store
LOCATION: 70 Brown St., North Kingstown
EMPLOYEES: 4 full time; 25 seasonal
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1995
ANNUAL SALES: WND
