Chicken N Pickle restaurant, the nation’s leading pickleball-focused dining and entertainment venue, announces its newest location in Grand Prairie’s Epic Central development. The freestanding destination will break ground on Friday, January 22, at 1 p.m., with a targeted opening date in late 2021. Mayor Ron Jensen and Chicken N Pickle founder Dave Johnson, along with community and company leadership, will attend the event to be held in the parking lot of The Summit Active Adult Center, 2975 Esplanade.
Chicken N Pickle is the wildly popular, indoor/outdoor entertainment complex centered around the sport of pickleball, offering a variety of games, a casual, chef-driven restaurant and sports bar. The 77,000-square-foot venue will feature a dining room, six indoor pickleball courts, five outdoor pickleball courts (two covered), and 7,500 square feet of outdoor yard games. A large rooftop bar, stages for live performances and all of the signature lawn games for which Chicken N Pickle is known round out the property. When completed, Chicken N Pickle – Grand Prairie will begin hosting pickleball clinics for beginners or advanced players and pickleball tournaments.
“We have been thrilled by the popularity of Chicken N Pickle and we look forward to making new friends in Grand Prairie,” said Bill Crooks, an acclaimed restaurateur who collaborated with founder Dave Johnson to create the Chicken N Pickle concept. “Our experience combines good food and good friends for great fun. We are proud to bring our chef-driven menu, featuring clean, locally sourced food and family-oriented activities, to North Texas.”
In this joint venture between the company and the City of Grand Prairie, the city will own the land, develop parking needs and lease to Chicken N Pickle. Chicken N Pickle will operate the facility. Epic Central plans also include the addition of a hotel/conference center, an expanded restaurant row, boardwalk along the Epic Central lakes, water and lighting features and concert/event grounds. Already located in Epic Central are the award-winning Summit Active Adult Center and Epic Arts, Fitness and Entertainment Center, Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark, the PlayGrand Adventures all-accessible playground, Central Bark Dog Park, Prairie Paws Animal Shelter, and the city’s Public Safety Building.
“We are so excited that Chicken N Pickle has selected Grand Prairie as the site of its sixth location nationally,” said Ron Jensen, Mayor of Grand Prairie. “We have so many residents who are ready to play pickleball and eat chicken, some of whom serve on the City Council with me. This is a wonderful addition to our dynamically developing Epic Central project, which already includes Epic Waters, The Epic, The Summit and PlayGrand Adventures, and has plans for hotels, more restaurants and retail in the near future.”
“We are delighted with the public-private partnership agreement that we are developing with Grand Prairie and are excited to bring Chicken N Pickle to the community,” said Dave Johnson, company founder and principal investor in the brand. “We know people will enjoy our delicious, wood-fired rotisserie chicken, a cold beverage, and some friendly competition on the pickleball courts.”
Chicken N Pickle Grand Prairie will feature indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, lawn games, a rooftop bar and a full-service restaurant using locally sourced foods to offer a variety of delicious dishes. When completed, Chicken N Pickle Grand Prairie will begin hosting pickleball clinics for players at all levels, as well as professional and amateur pickleball tournaments.
On the menu, a range of delicious wood-fired and rotisserie chicken dishes will be available to please every palate, along with pork and grass-fed beef sandwiches, salads, and a variety of munchies, including Chicken N Pickle’s signature hand-cut fries and tots. Beer from local breweries will be on tap.
“We proudly source from local farmers, ranchers and artisans such as Beeler’s Pure Pork and Heartbrand Beef to bring our customers the freshest, most flavorful, additive-free food possible,” said Alex Staab, Director of Culinary.
Pickleball, the fastest growing sport in America, is most popularly played as doubles (2v2) on a court half the size of a tennis court with an oversized ping pong paddle and a plastic ball. The rules are a mix of tennis and ping pong and are easy and fun for all ages to play together.
Launched in Kansas City in 2017, Chicken N Pickle’s flagship location has become a wildly popular destination for families, adults, and corporate outings. With plans to open in several national markets over the next twelve months, the company’s first move outside of Kansas City was to Wichita’s Plazzio Center in early 2019. Its third location, situated near the campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio, opened in early 2020 and its fourth location, in Oklahoma City’s new community-minded development, The Half, opened in early 2021. A fifth is set to open in Overland Park, Kansas, in 2021. As host to tournaments, as well as local family fun and games, the Chicken N Pickle name has become synonymous with fun, food and friendship.
About Chicken N Pickle
Chicken N Pickle is a unique, indoor/outdoor restaurant and entertainment complex including a casual, chef-driven restaurant and sports bar that boasts pickleball courts and indoor/outdoor games for all ages. Its mission is to provide an atmosphere that fosters fun, friendship, and community. A key tenet of Chicken N Pickle is demonstrated through the Our Hearts Are Local program, which focuses on creating philanthropic partnerships to strengthen our neighborhoods and beyond. Dozens of charitable events are held annually and proceeds are donated back to the communities we serve. Good Food. Good Friends. Great Fun. For more information, please visit www.chickennpickle.com
