Pickleball News

Restaurant with rotisserie chicken and pickleball paddles to Grapevine

The centerpiece of their menu is chicken.

Photo courtesy of CNP

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."

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Starbucks news

Starbucks to close Dallas office and cut jobs as part of restructuring

Photo courtesy of Starbucks

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Starbucks will close some U.S. offices, including one in Dallas, and will lay off 300 corporate employees and as part of its ongoing turnaround, the company said Friday, May 15.

No coffeehouse employees are affected, the company said. The cuts will impact employees in support functions like marketing, human resources and supply chain management. No international employees are affected for now, but Starbucks said it is also reviewing its corporate structure outside the U.S.

In addition to the Dallas office, at 12750 Merit Dr., Starbucks said it’s also closing underused offices in Atlanta, Chicago, and other cities. The Seattle-based company recently announced that it's opening a corporate office in Nashville, Tennessee, that will employ up to 2,000 people within five years.

Starbucks expects to the moves to result in $400 million in restructuring charges, including $120 million in employee separation benefits.

Starbucks has been trying to reduce costs and complexity under Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last year, the company laid off 2,000 corporate employees and closed hundreds of stores in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Niccol said last month that the simplified structure is helping the company innovate more quickly. Starbucks is also investing in its remaining stores to improve customers' experience. It plans to redesign 1,000 U.S. stores this year to give them a cozier, more comfortable feel, and it's also hiring baristas to ensure faster service during busy times.

The efforts appear to be paying off. In the January-March period, Starbucks said its U.S. same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, jumped 7%. Niccol called the quarter “the turn in our turnaround.”

“Our focus now is on sustaining our momentum and making our results repeatable and durable, all while delivering a healthy cost structure that supports profitable growth,” Niccol said during a conference call with investors. “It’s how we turn progress into consistent results.”

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