Pickleball News
Restaurant with rotisserie chicken and pickleball paddles to Grapevine
The unusual restaurant-entertainment concept Chicken N Pickle is expanding its Texas footprint with a new location in Grapevine.
The concept, which combines a restaurant with pickleball courts, will open at Delaney Vineyards, the winery reminiscent of an 18th century French chateau.
According to a release, the facility will open in early 2022.
Grapevine will be the third location in Texas and the eighth overall Chicken N Pickle, which was was founded in Kansas City in 2016. They also have locations in Wichita, Kansas; San Antonio; and Oklahoma City, and have three more set to open in the next few months including a location in Grand Prairie, which broke ground in early 2021.
Pickleball is a paddle sport where two to four players hit something resembling an enlarged whiffle ball back and forth on a court. Think of it as a combo of ping-pong, tennis and badminton, with a few variations. First-timers and advanced players can have fun playing at Chicken N Pickle.
Pickleball is a fast-growing sport most commonly played as doubles on a court that's 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.
The Grapevine facility will host pickleball clinics for beginners or advanced players and pickleball tournaments.
Does it seem weird to have pickleball courts on the grounds of a winery that is reminiscent of an 18th-century French chateau? Not to William D. Tate, mayor of Grapevine.
"We couldn't be happier to see Delaney Vineyards entering a new chapter with the addition of Chicken N Pickle,” Tate says in a statement. "This property is instantly recognizable in our city, and Chicken N Pickle will be a premier family entertainment destination and a point of pride for us."
Chicken N Pickle is timely in that it's an indoor/outdoor complex, which is a big post-pandemic trend. It incorporates a restaurant-sports bar with pickleball courts and indoor/outdoor games for all ages, promoting fun, friendship, and community.
Chicken N Pickle Grapevine will be equipped with bars, pavilions, multiple dining areas on the main floor, a rooftop dining experience, and outdoor tables. The main dining area will be big enough to accommodate corporate and social events, lunch meetings, large rehearsal dinners, and team-building events.
The venue will feature numerous indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, shuffleboard and Bocce ball courts, and a variety of lawn games.
The menu spotlights wood-fired chicken, available in four different seasonings along with pork and beef sandwiches, salads and protein bowls, fries, and tots.
They're also into giving back, says Bill Crooks, Chief Experience Officer.
"We say 'our hearts are local' because we support the communities we serve through philanthropy and through our business practices," Crooks says. "We are thrilled to become a part of the Grapevine community."
