Stand up paddle shop moving into old winery with new wine and coffee bar

It was down to the 11th hour, Chris Brackett had to be out of his South Tahoe Stand Up Paddle location and had no place to go with all of his boards. He was in the same situation as Rude Brothers, the bagel and coffee shop that shared the same location. With the building sold and all tenants given notice to move, both businesses needed to relocate.

Brackett found his answer just a couple of doors down in the old Picchetti Winery building at the corner of Harrison Avenue and San Jose Avenue in South Lake Tahoe. A perspective buyer had been interested in that building, but the deal fell through just as Brackett was moving the boards into storage, at 4:30 p.m. on the day he had to moved.

Instead, he made a deal with the Picchetti property owner over the phone and the boards were moved over immediately.

"I Was trying to still have joy in the middle of the situation," explained Brackett of the moment he got the good news. "I went from Eeyore to Tigger in seconds and it was the most elated feeling I’ve ever had in my life."

"We will now have a beautiful back yard, a perfect space and be closer to El Dorado Beach," said Brackett. "Parking and signage will be better too."

Now, what was just going to be a new location for his stand-up paddle shop is being recreated into "Revive" a coffee and wine bar along with paddle rentals and sales.

Countless hours are now being put into the project with cleaning, painting and changing a location perfect for wine tasting into a trendy spot for coffee and wine as well as a perfect spot for stand up paddle rentals and sales. With the hiring of a special event person, the potential for other opportunities at the corner location near the beach are endless.

Revive will be open in June, but South Tahoe Stand Up Paddle expects to be open in a couple of weeks and a grand opening will be celebrated.

Race the Lake of the Sky

The signature paddle boarding event in South Lake Tahoe started by Chris Brackett and South Tahoe Stand Up Paddle is canceled for 2016 because of the move. "We weren't sure where we were going to be, what we were going to do so we had to cancel this year's Race the Lake of the Sky," said Brackett. "Now that we are moving into a new space there just isn't time to pull it off."

But that isn't keeping many race fans away. With some participants already planning a trip, some from as far away as Costa Rica, Brackett said they told him they're still coming and going to enjoy SUP in Tahoe.

Since this is a leap year, Brackett is having a “Leap Year” for Race the Lake of the Sky and leaping right to 2017 for their 5th annual event.

Some of the normal participants are traveling to South Lake Tahoe for the South Tahoe SUP Series which is scheduled to return for the sixth straight year on Saturday June 25.

When the cancellation of the race was announced, it became big news in the SUP world. Many race fans posted their comments, and Brackett said he was very moved by them. Paddler Mike Muir left positive messages as did this one from Sasha Unruh: For a lot of us we plan our vacations around this race. Kids are out of school and its time to go play. If you already have reservations and campsites booked DON'T GIVE THOSE UP. Get up to South Lake Tahoe and take advantage of the extra time to really enjoy what Lake Tahoe has to offer. Paddling is just one piece of the trip. How many of you have gone and hiked part of the Tahoe Rim Trail or headed over to Eagle Falls above Emerald Bay? What about heading up to Lake Angora and jumping off the rocks and drinking lemonade. And if you want a little excitemt you could try bringing your inflatable SUP down the Truckee River. Mostly get up there and enjoy the time off. We work waaaay too much as it is. What do you say we as a community of paddlers get together and give back to Chris and his team at South Tahoe Standup Paddle this year instead. He has worked very hard to create one of the best races in the country, and yes it is unfortunate that this year's Race the Lake of the Sky has been postponed, but he is still doing the Saturday night race on June 25th. So lets all show up for that and take part in what could be the biggest little race in the country.