Padelford Riverboat Co. Celebrates Golden Anniversary
ST. PAUL, Minn., July 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Padelford Riverboat Co., a premier Mississippi River cruise provider offering scenic, top-rated sightseeing, dining, private, and school trip charters in the Twin Cities, is celebrating 50 years of operation in 2019. To date, Padelford has entertained more than five million passengers aboard their riverboats.
Founded in 1969 by Capt. William D. Bowell, Sr. and his wife Lillian Bowell, the company began with a single vessel called the Jonathan Padelford. The next additions to the Padelford fleet were in 1988 with a sidewheeler called the Anson Northrup and in 1990 with a passenger vessel called the Betsey Northrup.
Today, the company is owned and managed by Gus and Tammy Gaspardo, plus a team of experienced marine and customer service professionals. Gus shared ownership of the company starting in 2008 with Capt. Bowell's family, with the couple gaining full ownership in 2016.
Padelford is operated out of Harriet Island Regional Park in St. Paul, including a full-service kitchen featuring locally sourced, quality ingredients. "This kitchen was built because we wanted to improve the quality of our food. It was important for us to have our food as locally sourced as possible. The protein we offer, such as beef brisket, prime rib, and pork, is sourced from a meat market in South St. Paul called Husnik Meat Co.," said Owner and President Gus Gaspardo.
As an independently owned company, Padelford values their relationships with smaller businesses to help stimulate the local economy. Gaspardo noted, "Approximately 90% of our revenue stays within the community." The company also strives to maintain affordable pricing for all of their cruises. "We have not raised our narrated school field trip rate since 2001. We do this because we think it's important nowadays that kids have access to a fun, affordable, and educational experience. We serve about 10,000 students a year," said Gaspardo.
"Everything we do here is geared to our customers to make sure that they enjoy the cruises," said Gaspardo. "We've had a lot of customer loyalty over the last 50 years, and we really appreciate their continued business."
About: The Padelford Riverboat Co. is a provider of riverboat cruises within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.
Contact: For more information, visit https://riverrides.com/ or contact Gus Gaspardo of Padelford Riverboat Co. at 651-227-1100 or gus@riverrides.com.
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SOURCE Padelford Riverboat Co.
