After a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, longtime friends Tony Mendina and Jeff Rhoades had no idea that a spontaneous sightseeing tour would lead them to their next business venture.
The two travelled with their wives in the mid-2010s and booked a pedal pub tour through the streets of Nashville. Traditional pedal pubs are large, man-powered vehicles with pedals for pushing and a bar in the middle for drinking. These tours have become all the rage the last decade or so and have popped up in big cities such as Nashville and Miami.
Mendina and Rhoades loved the concept of a pedal pub so much that they wanted to create one of their own, but instead of pedaling through the streets these friends wanted to give this activity a Floridian spin, so they created their very own pedal pub boats.
The pedal boats, nicknamed the “Krakens,” began in Tampa roughly six years ago, and from there Kraken CycleBoats was born. These boats seat up to sixteen passengers and have ten stations for pedaling. An experienced captain welcomes crew members aboard and guides them on a beautiful tour of the waterways. Kraken CycleBoats became a huge success in the Tampa area, and in 2018 Mendina and Rhoades brought a “kraken” to the downtown Jacksonville area.
“Our intention was always to create a great, unique experience for everybody,” said Alyssa Rhoades, Jeff Rhoades’s wife and business partner. “I love to be a part of [that].”
The Kraken CyleBoat tours last two hours and are perfect for several outings. Rhoades said that guests book private tours to celebrate birthdays, graduations, engagements, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and even family reunions. Jacksonville is particularly big with team building cruises from local businesses. Kraken also offers public tours for smaller groups but requires all passengers to be 21+ due to consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Cruises are always BYOB, but the Kraken CycleBoats are equipped with coolers and a speaker system for guest convenience. Halfway through the tour the boat makes a stop at River City Brewing, who Rhoades said has become a wonderful partner with Kraken CycleBoats, for restrooms and/or snacks. All Kraken guests receive a complimentary “Pedal, Pedal, Drink” souvenir cup after their tour.
Rhoades said that in the years since their creation, the Kraken CycleBoat tours has received loads of positive feedback from both the Tampa Bay and Jacksonville areas. Customers love the tours so much that they come back for more every few months. You can learn more about the Kraken CycleBoats on their website at krakencycleboats.com.
