The Chadakoin Paddle Company announced its closure this week.

The business was located at 701 W. Eighth St., Jamestown, in the former Joyce’s Keg Room building that is in the process of being redeveloped as part of a project known as the Prendergast Landing project. Chadakoin Paddle Company opened its doors in 2024, offering kayak rentals for those who wanted to kayak from McCrea Point Park out to Chautauqua Lake and back.

City officials met with the company in May and June 2025 for a proposal allowing the company to put kayaks at the McCrea Point boat landing on a shed with a rack attached.

“Due to an unexpected medical situation affecting one of our owners, we are sharing the difficult news that Chadakoin Paddle Company will be permanently closing,” the company said in a Facebook post this week. “We were only two seasons in, but what seasons they were! From our very first launch to the last paddle out, every moment on the water with this community meant the world to us. You showed up for us before we even had a chance to fully find our footing, and that is something we will never forget.”

Jade Empire LLC have been working on the Prendergast Landing project for a few years, with the plan being to renovate the 12,000 square foot building on the corner of Fairmount Avenue and West Eighth Street as well as two adjacent lots. The building will house a small cafe, a retail outfitter for outdoor activities and a boutique showcasing local small businesses on the ground floor, with flexible office spaces for entrepreneurs and a multi-purpose room for community events on the second floor. The third floor will have three residential lofts. A kayak rental business has been part of the discussions for possible tenants in the building.