LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. – A new boat rental at the Lake of the Ozarks is taking the area by storm, offering one-of-a-kind rentals and free ice cream – and will soon reopen a once-wildly popular lake restaurant.
Scooters offers 14 VX cruiser-style wave runners for lake-goers to rent. The wave runners are equipped with bluetooth speakers and a patented ride throttle control, enabling riders to switch from forward to reverse with a simple pull of the throttle. Scooters provides life jackets for riders and an additional option to rent tubes.
The rental company also added a Tritoon Crest 240, which features a 250-horsepower Suzuki outboard engine, SeaStar power-assist steering, dual battery electrical system and a 48-gallon fuel tank.
Scooters’ owners, Tom and Beth Randall, moved to the lake from Iowa in search of a new business adventure.
“We found the whole area was attractive,” Beth said. “We couldn’t say no to the property and to this place. We felt drawn to it.”
The couple and their teenage daughters have put their heads together to make Scooters the best rental company at Lake of the Ozarks. The family has hired Chief Executive Chef Robin Stotter to help bring back the legacy of the immensely popular restaurant “The Duck,” which is attached to Scooters.
“We’re gonna embrace the restaurant that was here for 19 years and closed,” Stotter told The Heartlander. “They had a great run, but we’re gonna modernize a little bit. Right now we are tearing up the kitchen. Everyone is coming and renting wave runners to see what is going on, and they want food.”
The restaurant’s last owners have been in touch with Stotter, and he says he plans to keep duck-related items on the menu to pay homage. The restaurant will serve sea bass, salmon, walleye, fresh pasta and an abundance of seafood. Stotter also says he will run a “zero waste” kitchen with local sustainable food.
Keeping “The Duck” as the establishment’s namesake, the Randall family says once it opens, dining customers will recognize familiar remnants from the last two Duck restaurants that operated there.
Beth told The Heartlander she and her husband have plans to designate a casual lakeside spot called “The Lucky Duck,” which was the restaurant’s first and original name.
Customers who purchase gas or rentals at Scooters will receive free Dole soft-serve ice cream with their purchase.
“Who doesn’t want a free ice cream cone?” Beth rhetorically asked. “If people are down here for the whole week, they are coming back here all day and topping off their gas tanks so they can send their kids in.”
The new business got its name when the family’s youngest daughter suggested naming it after their pet turtle, Scooter. Although the family pet doesn’t live inside the store, the Randalls do have a 25-year-old red-eared slider turtle named Jazzy who greets customers from her 120-gallon tank in the store.
Along with rentals and free ice cream, Scooters also sells snacks and beverages. Visit its website here for more information.
