A visit several years ago to Nashville provided Brady Cohen and his brother Brandon with the spark to bring an exciting new opportunity for visitors to Michigan’s Great Southwest a unique option to get on the open water and enjoy a whole new view.
Brady is the General Manager of the Inn at Harbor Shores, and that visit to Nashville introduced him to the Pontoon Saloon, a pedal-powered paddle-wheeler wherein the passengers on board provided the necessary means of propulsion to head down the river while sitting at a bar down the center of the boat.
The Cohen brothers couldn’t get the idea out of their heads and instead decided to launch the research and fire up their own dream to bring such a watercraft to the St. Joseph River and the inner harbor alongside the Harbor Shores Resort.
Today, they are rolling out The Harbor Hopper, a pedal-powered Cycleboat being built for them by Cascade Cycleboats of Bend, Oregon for introduction into the harbor next spring.
Brady says that he witnessed far too many visitors to the Inn at Harbor Shores who looked longingly at the on-site marina and watched boats, jet skis and other watercraft making their way up and down the waterfront just beyond the Inn’s Tiki Bar and wondering how they could get onto the water themselves.
After garnering the blessing of the Inn at Harbor Shores management to establish a base of operations at the Harbor Shores Marina, Brady and Brandon worked with Cornerstone Alliance and United Federal Credit Union to secure financing to bring the dream to reality next spring and summer.
A 16-passenger Cycleboat is under construction in Oregon and will be operated by a Master Captain, a Deck Hand, and room for 14 paying passengers to experience the waterfront from a whole new perspective.
Brady says, “From my experience running the resort, we’ve got the prime location and with the marina here as an awesome asset, at Inn at Harbor Shores.” He notes, “We get so many people stopping in asking how do I get on the water, and haven’t had a solution for them until now. Brandon and I had a brainstorm and nearly two years ago we ran into a place in Nashville that had a Pontoon Saloon, and we started talking about how cool that would be to have one.”
In the beginning, the Harbor Hopper will afford you the opportunity to bring your own booze and food on board, but eventually the Cohens are looking to get a liquor license to make it easier and more streamlined for the customer. They’ll get operations up and running first, and take up the licensing issue later.
The Harbor Hopper will offer a basic two hour tour, from the time you get on the boat til the time you get off. The vessel will make two stops along the way at Tavern on the River along the Morrison Channel, and the River’s Edge on the old Benton Harbor Shipping Canal, just off the confluence of the St. Joseph and Paw Paw Rivers.
They have secured slips at both destinations, where you can hop off, grab a drink, use the restroom, or whatever, and get back on board. Each stop would be about 20 to 25 minutes long, just enough to get a beverage, make a pit stop and climb back aboard.
Brady says, “We can also sell beverages from Plank’s or the tiki bar for passengers, and it’s all about providing more from the resort for guests looking for additional options.
You can actually begin making reservations to reserve the Harbor Hopper for your own outing beginning next spring by clicking the link below:
Brady says they’ve talked to a lot of local businesses who have been encouraging financing, design work, the website and more and adds that a lot of people are excited about the next waterfront amenity.
Brandon says the Harbor Hopper can be used for a whole host of occasions including:
- Enjoy a Bachelorette/Bachelor Party (on-site wedding venue)
- Tourists (hotel sits on water and has a marina)
- Holiday Parties (on-site banquet rooms)
- Enjoy Time with Family or Friends
- Corporate Events/Team Building
- Host a Pre or After Prom Cruise
- Celebrate an Engagement
- Celebrate an Anniversary
- Have a Retirement Party
- See Live Entertainment
- Throw a Reunion Party
- Throw a Surprise Party
- Celebrate a Birthday
- Wedding Receptions
- Eat Lunch or Dinner
- Create a Fundraiser
- Dance with Friends
- Relax with a Drink
- Pop the Question!
- Watch a Sunset!
- Just Hang Out!
- Get Married!
- Laugh!
- Love!
The Harbor Hopper is a joint venture between the brothers who have always wanted to be able to open up a business together, and have in fact been talking about it for years, and got the blessing from resort owners who authorized them to go ahead knowing it’ll bring people to the hotel, and help produce revenue there, too.
As Brady says, “It’s one more reason to hit the Inn at Harbor Shores, see Planks, see the hotel, and we can offer discounts on package deals with overnight stays, and the like.”
The bars they stop at will also put together food and drink packages for the passengers, and the website will show you stops and offers, going forward.
While pedal-power moves the boat, there is a motor on board in case you get tired and want the captain to take over. It features a 30-horsepower motor on board, in case it gets too strenuous for you. Brady realizes, “A lot of folks will get excited and then wear themselves out, and give things over to the engine if they want.”
The Cohens say they are super excited just to offer the chance to get on the water< pointing out, “With the big party boat in the harbor, you have to have like 30 people to rent it out…this is more affordable for smaller groups.” If it goes well, they will consider adding to the fleet at other locations along the water.
At the moment, they are recruiting for additiional Master Captains to join their primary Master, Jeff Alisch, because they need auxiliary captains to handle other times and other runs. Jeff has been a local captain for years but they will need two or three extras to help out. A Deck Hand will join the master captain on each run.
The new Harbor Hopper will be capable of running from the Coast Guard station neighborhood all the way up to around Berrien Hills, just beyond the Napier Avenue bridge, as their range during a two hour run.
In addition to thanking Cornerstone and UFCU for help in realizing the dream, the Cohens are thankful for website developer Chelsea Reynolds and their logo designer Lynzee McDowell.
They are offering a 10-percent discount to the first five “full boat/private party” bookings. Simply use the promo code ALL ABOARD when creating your booking.
You can reach the Harbor Hopper by phone at 1-833-SJCYCLE which is 1-833-752-9253. See you on the water!
