By Luke McElwain, VP of Development & Construction at Maxus Properties & Chicken N Pickle, and Kelli Alldredge, President of Chicken N Pickle
Ten years ago, before pickleball became America’s fastest-growing sport, Chicken N Pickle was built around a much bigger idea than a game.
We believed people were craving something that had become increasingly difficult to find: authentic, face-to-face connection. Our vision wasn’t simply to build a restaurant or an entertainment venue. It was to create a place where families, friends, coworkers and neighbors could gather, celebrate and build relationships. Pickleball happened to be the catalyst — but human connection was always the purpose.
Today, that vision has grown from a single location in North Kansas City into a national hospitality brand with 13 locations. Along the way, we’ve been fortunate to help define what has become one of the fastest-growing categories in commercial real estate: experiential retail.
Our journey has reinforced one important lesson: while experiences may attract guests the first time, community is what brings them back.
Experience Is the Product
Consumers today have endless options for dining, entertainment and shopping. What they’re increasingly seeking are places that offer something online can’t replicate — shared experiences.
That trend has fundamentally reshaped how we think about development.
When guests visit Chicken N Pickle, they aren’t simply booking a pickleball court or ordering dinner. They may be celebrating a birthday, hosting a company outing, attending a fundraiser, reconnecting with old friends or introducing their children to a game grandparents can enjoy alongside them.
Our properties are intentionally designed to support all of those moments.
Pickleball remains an important part of our identity, but it’s only one piece of a much broader hospitality experience that includes chef-driven dining, handcrafted beverages, yard games, corporate events, celebrations and community programming. We often say we’re a hospitality company centered on human connection — not simply a pickleball destination.
Choosing Communities, Not Just Sites
As we’ve expanded nationally, we’ve learned that selecting the right market involves much more than demographics.
We look for communities with energy, accessibility and opportunities to become part of the local fabric. Strong business communities, nearby residential growth and active civic organizations all matter because our goal isn’t simply to occupy real estate; it’s to become a gathering place that enhances the surrounding development.
Our philosophy — “Our Hearts Are Local” — guides every new location.
Every Chicken N Pickle is designed to reflect its community through partnerships with nonprofits, schools, local businesses and civic organizations. That commitment has become one of our strongest differentiators as we’ve grown nationally, while maintaining a distinctly local presence. Since opening, we’ve invested more than $6.5 million in local communities and supported thousands of nonprofit organizations through fundraising events, charitable partnerships and volunteerism.
Continuous Evolution Drives Growth
One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned over the past decade is that successful experiential concepts can’t remain static.
Every new location has benefited from what we’ve learned from previous ones. We’ve refined layouts to improve guest flow, activated more outdoor gathering spaces, expanded private event capabilities and introduced new programming that keeps our properties active throughout the day and year.
Seasonal experiences, rooftop concepts, wellness programming and enhanced culinary offerings have allowed us to evolve alongside changing consumer expectations while remaining true to our original mission.
The result is a destination that serves multiple audiences simultaneously – from families enjoying lunch after youth sports to corporations hosting team-building events, retirees playing weekday pickleball and friends gathering for evening celebrations.
Why Developers Continue to Invest in Experience
Developers today recognize that experiential concepts succeed when they become repeat destinations rather than occasional attractions.
That’s where we believe Chicken N Pickle creates value.
Our locations generate consistent visitation throughout the week because guests return for leagues, corporate events, fundraisers, celebrations, dining and everyday gatherings — not just one specific activity. Hundreds of thousands of guests visit each property annually, creating meaningful traffic that benefits neighboring retailers and businesses.
Experiential retail works best when it gives people multiple reasons to return, as well as multiple ways to engage.
Looking Beyond Pickleball
While pickleball helped introduce many guests to our brand, the broader trend driving our growth isn’t about a sport.
It’s about belonging.
Consumers increasingly value places where multiple generations can spend meaningful time together, where businesses can strengthen relationships, where nonprofits can raise awareness and where communities can celebrate life’s milestones.
Those needs aren’t temporary trends. They’re fundamental human needs.
As Chicken N Pickle enters its second decade, we’ll continue expanding thoughtfully, refining the guest experience and building strong partnerships with developers and communities. But our mission remains exactly what it was when we opened our first location 10 years ago: creating spaces where meaningful human connection happens naturally through hospitality, recreation and community.
In the end, we don’t measure success solely by the number of locations we open.
We measure it by the communities we help strengthen — and the memories created along the way.