Chicken N Pickle: The Original Pickleball Eatertainment Experience
Chicken N Pickle: The Original Pickleball Eatertainment Experience
Pickleball may be the latest leisure craze sweeping the nation, but Kansas City-based Chicken N Pickle is proud to have been around since before the sporty trend made such a racket in Americans’ lives. Founded in 2016, the 10-unit concept is an indoor/outdoor eatertainment experience that is equal parts chicken destination and playground for all ages.
“We always say we want to be the Topgolf of pickleball,” said Chicken N Pickle president Kelli Alldredge. “We’re not real fancy. We want you to come in your comfortable tennis shoes, hang out and really spend several hours with us having fun. That’s our goal.”
Chicken N Pickle was founded by Dave Johnson after he witnessed a game of pickleball for the first time during a visit to Arizona. Alldredge explained that Johnson was drawn to the community aspect of the game and had a vision to combine it with his favorite restaurant experience in the Cayman Islands, Chicken! Chicken!
Thus, Chicken N Pickle was born as a true new generation eatertainment concept. In addition to multiple pickleball courts and yard games like life-sized Battleship and Jenga, all locations offer a chicken-centric menu that’s “very chef-driven” and locally-sourced.
“Food is a priority,” Alldredge emphasized. “People want the full package. They want activity, entertainment, and a place where they can gather that’s different….but people walk onto our property expecting a bar food menu, and they’re blown away by our offerings.”
Chicken N Pickle also embraces technology to enhance the customer experience, allowing guests to open a tab that follows them around the property for ease of playing and dining on and off the courts.
Community and charity are at the heart of the Chicken N Pickle brand, with each location having a community impact coordinator to ensure the brand serves through fundraisers, donated space, and partnerships with organizations like The Special Olympics. The Chicken N Pickle Foundation has even purchased sports wheelchairs for its para pickleball program.
“We’ve really realized over the last several years that everyone can play this game,” Alldredge said. “We helped launch the game of pickleball by introducing it to communities that may have heard of it but never played it before.”
With locations eleven and twelve under construction and plans for six more locations in the next two years, Chicken N Pickle is set to continue its growth and impact on the pickleball community. Vote for your favorite chain on their LinkedIn or Instagram pages for a chance to win.
