AVID pickleball players are in luck, as a new concept restaurant highlighting the rapidly growing game is opening soon.
Customers can select tasty food and drink options while playing against friends and family.
Pickleball fans are getting a brand new concept restaurant this winter (stock image)[/caption]
At least nine pickleball courts are featured in the Electric Pickle concept[/caption]
There’s 12,000 square feet of space in total with a two-story restaurant[/caption]
Starting in December, Arizona residents near Tempe, about 18 miles east of downtown Phoenix, can head to Electric Pickle, per Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN).
The “eatertainment” design featuring pickleball was the brainchild of Eureka! Restaurant Group is financially supported through Knighthead Capital Management.
Electric Pickle in Tempe is also the first of what will be many locations, as the companies have nationwide expansion plans in the works.
More are arriving throughout 2025 in California, Nevada, and Texas.
At Electric Pickle, guests can play pickleball on more than 4.5 acres of courts while ordering from a two-story restaurant.
They can also eat and play bocce ball, ping pong, and other similar games.
Still, it’s pickleball that the founder and co-CEO of Eureka Restaurant Group and Electric Pickle, Paul Frederick, is focused on.
“I think pickleball’s explosive growth is just getting started…pickleball, combined with the culinary aspect, plus making our venues super fun and energetic have been packaged into Electric Pickle,” Frederick said while speaking with NRN.
Electric Pickle isn’t the first pickleball-themed restaurant, either.
Chicken N Pickle, Camp Pickle, and The Pickle Pad are a few others that have popped up in recent years.
MORE TO OFFER
Even with that in mind, Frederick claims Electric Pickle will be “elevating the experience” with “more entertainment offerings that will go in the venue like DJs and live bands at night.”
There will also be an expansive international menu with Mexican street tacos, Korean bowls, sushi rolls, Neapolitan pizzas, and, of course, American burgers.
Electric Pickle also boasts AI gaming technology for “enhanced” experiences at four of the nine pickleball courts that will be included with each location, along with a golf simulator.
The concept for Electric Pickle is also very similar to one already created for golf that’s grown just as rapidly — Topgolf.
What is Topgolf?
Topgolf is a restaurant and golf entertainment chain with nearly 100 locations across the United States.
Each complex features three floors of hitting bays with high-tech games as guests hit out to different targets at different yardages.
While one person plays, the rest of the group can sit back and order food and drinks from the restaurant menu.
Brothers Steve and Dave Jolliffe founded Topgolf back in 2000 as a way to improve their golf skills.
The first Topgolf to hit U.S. soil was in 2005 in Alexandria, Virginia.
COMPETING CONCEPT
Topgolf also operates on “eatertainment,” with typically three floors worth of hitting bays out into a netted area with different colored targets and vast options of games to play, allowing even those unfamiliar with the sport to enjoy their time.
While one person hits, the rest of the group can sit and enjoy drinks and food from a wide variety of menu options.
Topgolf has over 95 locations in 35 states and 15 spots internationally, per its website.
It seems as though Electric Pickle and Topgolf might be two similar concepts, just highlighting different games.
While restaurants featuring sports are opening, many classic brick-and-mortar locations without games have closed this year.
Denny’s confirmed it will shutter 150 ‘underperforming’ restaurants.
Red Lobster also notably filed for bankruptcy and immediately shuttered over 100 locations this summer.
Restaurant closures in 2024
BOSSES at major dining chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The U.S. Sun has compiled a list of the chain’s affected.
- Cracker Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina, and Sacramento, California, have closed.
- Mod Pizza: Bosses dramatically shuttered 27 shops in April, including some in the state of California.
- Frisch’s Big Boy: Restaurant chiefs confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky in April.
- Outback Steakhouse: The chain will shutter 41 ‘underperforming’ locations this year.
- Two Bucks: Four restaurants in Ohio closed in April.
- Chili’s: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has shut permanently as well as one in Irvine, California, and one in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
- Friendly’s: Bosses confirmed an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island will close.
- Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed at the end of March, followed by four in Ohio in June and 15 in Indiana. This was followed in July by a bankruptcy filing from its parent company which announced the closure of 150 locations.
- Carl’s Jr.: The first Boise, Idaho location has closed.
- In-N-Out: An Oakland location closed earlier in the year due to crime in the area.
- Cheesecake Factory: The chain is set to shutter a location in Memphis, Tennessee in July.
- Applebee’s: Announced the closure of between 25 and 35 locations this year.
- Red Lobster: The seafood chain filed for bankruptcy in May and shuttered over 100 locations.
- Taco John’s: Shuttered a restaurant in Minnesota and put the building up for sale in May.
- Frisco’s Chicken: The poultry restaurant shuttered all of its locations over the summer
- Rubio’s Coastal Grill: Has announced the closure of 48 locations in California after filing for bankruptcy.
- Burger King: Shuttered a location in California in June after 30 years.
- Foster’s Freeze: Shuttered a location in California after five decades in business due to financial struggles.
- Chicken Salad Chick: After nine years the restaurant shuttered one location in Jacksonville, Florida, with no reason given.
- México Lindo: The New York City-based restaurant announced its final day after 52 years and finally shuttered its doors for good on July 31.
- American Dream Pizza: Closed all of its locations in Oregon in July.
- Tender Greens: The Southern California-based chain filed for bankruptcy.
- Lefty’s Famous Cheesesteaks, Hoagies, & Grill: Abruptly shuttered 18 locations in July due to a family feud.
- Firehouse Subs: Shuttered a location in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State over the summer citing “unforeseen circumstances”
- Taco Time: The Taco Bell rival shuttered a location in Seattle after 50 years following a death in the franchise owner’s family.
- Burgerim: Shuttered a location in Burlington, Massachusetts in July, reigniting bankruptcy fears from 2020.
- Denny’s: The chain has shuttered over 40 locations so far this year with the owner of the one outlet blaming vandalism.
- Starbucks: The chain shuttered one of its most iconic locations in New York City after almost three decades with fans blaming crime. It also lost a location in Seattle.
- Subway: In August, the sandwich chain shuttered over 20 locations across the US and Canada after a franchisee lost money after being a victim of fraud.
- IHOP: A restaurant in New Hampshire shut its doors after 24 years, leaving four locations in the state.
- Switchback Coffee Roasters: The popular chain filed for bankruptcy in August after over a decade in business.
- Jimmy John’s: The sandwich shop chain shuttered a location in Nevada on August 19 after 12 years citing overexpansion issues.
- KFC: Closed the remaining three locations in Rockford, Illinois all on the same day on August 19. In total, it closed six locations across four cities in Illinois.
- Rusty Bucket: The chicken shop chain confirmed it would officially leave Florida as it announced a handful of closures including in Sarasota and Ohio.
- Buca di Beppo: The Olive Garden rival abruptly shuttered 44 locations across five states before filing for bankruptcy.
- Red Robin: Announced the closure of its Ashburn, Virginia location on August 25 after 15 years in business.
- Noodles & Company: Shuttered dozens of locations due to their contribution to around $2 million worth of losses.
- Shoney’s: The classic American-style food chain founded in 1947 officially exited Ohio after three decades of business as it reduced its operational footprint.
- Homegrown: The sandwich chain based in Seattle announced the closure of 10 locations leaving 150 employees in the lurch.
- World of Beer: Filed for bankruptcy after closing 14 outlets.
- Arby’s: The chain announced a number of closures this year including in Lexington, Kentucky, Akron, Ohio,
- Uno Pizzeria & Grill: Shuttered a location in New Jersey in July, leaving just two in the state, followed by the closure of a Baltimore location in August.
- Hart House: Shutterd all four locations in California in September just two years after the vegan fast-food restaurant chain was launched by actor and comedian Kevin Hart.
