By Michael Donoghue, Islander Staff Writer

The Blue Paddle Bistro, a fixture in the South Hero dining scene for more than two decades, has closed its doors for good.

The restaurant, founded by Patience “Mandy” Hotchkiss and Phoebe Bright in March 2005, had become a well-known dining destination in the Champlain Islands.

A phone call to the restaurant on Thursday was greeted with a doomed recorded message confirming it is no longer accepting customers.

“We are closed and not taking any reservations. Have a nice day,” the voice announces.

An attempt to make an online reservation produced an even more definitive written response:

“Thank you for your interest in coming to The Paddle. We are no longer in business. Warmest regards, Mandy.”

There was no mention of any refunds for gift cards or certificates for the business on U.S. 2 in South Hero village.

Repeated attempts by The Islander to reach Hotchkiss and Bright by phone and texts were unsuccessful.

Landlord Nate Hayward, reached by phone Thursday evening, said he would leave any comment about the restaurant to Bright and Hotchkiss.

UPDATE: Hotchkiss eventually posted a brief note on Facebook on Thursday night saying “we experienced a perfect storm of circumstances that caused us to come to the difficult decision to end our beloved business.”

She did not explain the circumstances, but thanked the patrons.

The Blue Paddle has had very limited public hours this summer. One listing shows the restaurant was open only four nights a week (Thursday to Sunday) for three hours each (from 5 to 8 p.m.).

The restaurant’s website also is shut down. Its Facebook page had no messages since last Saturday.

Hotchkiss had hinted the closing was near with her personal message with a photo on the Blue Paddle Facebook page on Aug. 2. She noted, in part, “Of all the things I will miss about The Paddle, our guests (aka our friends) will be at the top of that list …

When asked by a few friends about where they were headed and about the future of the Paddle, Hotchkiss provided no specific response to the questions.

The two-story restaurant has about 2,000 square feet and is on a quarter-acre in the village next to Granny’s Attic. It was built about 1890 and reportedly was a parsonage early on. More recently the Merchants Bank used it as a branch office, along with a drive-up window, before it moved across the street. The front porch was later added.

The property had been owned earlier by former Green Mountain Power President Mary Powell, but was sold to Hayward about five years ago.

Hotchkiss and Bright also operated the Blue Paddle by the Bay for two summers. The summer eatery on Lake Champlain was about a mile further north on U.S. 2 during the summers of 2022 and 2023, but was closed by the women to focus on the original restaurant.