What Chicken N Pickle does

Chicken N Pickle is a privately held, US-based eatertainment operator founded in 2016 by Dave Johnson alongside co-founder and Kansas City restaurateur Bill Crooks. The company builds and operates indoor/outdoor complexes that combine a chef-driven casual restaurant and sports bar — anchored by wood-fired rotisserie chicken, house-ground burgers, smoked wings, and handcrafted cocktails — with reservable pickleball courts (and ancillary yard games such as cornhole, bocce, shuffleboard, and Jenga) plus private event space. The model is operational rather than technological: 13 owned (not franchised) locations across 8 US states, with three Dallas-Fort Worth sites and additional presence in Kansas City, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Denver, Houston, St. Louis, Oklahoma City, and Wichita. Supporting technology is light, comprising a GPS-enabled table-tent system that supports an open-seating service model and a CNP Rewards mobile app offering tiered loyalty (Bronze Egg, Golden Chicken, Platinum Pickler) plus online ordering.

The business operates on a diversified, transaction-based revenue model with no membership required for basic access. Core revenue streams are restaurant and bar sales, pickleball court reservations, equipment rentals, leagues and instruction, private events and catering, Rotisserie Chicken To-Go ($25 per whole bird with sides), gift cards, branded merchandise through cnpswag.com, and a subscription-flavored loyalty program. Pricing is pay-as-you-go (e.g., $5 beginner clinics, $30-$190 junior camps) with a 10% military discount and seasonal sports-viewing promotions such as Soccer Central. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer through company-owned physical venues, the Olo-powered online ordering platform, the mobile app, and the merchandise storefront; the company explicitly does not franchise.

Strategically, Chicken N Pickle has invested heavily in community positioning as a differentiator: the "Our Hearts Are Local" program, with its Community Cup Campaign (donating $0.25 per fountain beverage or tea), full-time Community Impact Coordinators at each site, and 4 paid employee volunteer days, has returned $6.5M to local communities since founding and $1.5M in 2025 alone across 10,944 nonprofit partnerships. Celebrity investors Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Jack Sock provide endorsement leverage, while partnerships with Six Zero Paddles, the Special Olympics, Ability 360, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, and PicklePlay support equipment, accessibility, workforce, and gameplay integration. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and the company is founder-led with no identified institutional PE, VC, or parent entity.

Name

Chicken N Pickle

Legal name

Chicken N Pickle LLC

Website

https://chickennpickle.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Chicken N Pickle is a privately held US eatertainment operator that runs 13 company-owned indoor/outdoor complexes across 8 states, combining chef-driven casual dining, reservable pickleball courts, yard games, and private event space for families, social groups, and corporate clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Eatertainment venues

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Bowling Centers (71395)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Chicken & Wings QSR (THAFAAAC)

Keywords

• Eatertainment venues
• Pickleball court rentals
• Casual dining restaurants
• Private event hosting
• Recreational sports complex

Headquarters

HQ city

North Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices13 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant and Bar Sales: Full-service restaurant and sports bar with chef-driven menu including wood-fired rotisserie chicken, burgers, wings, and handcrafted cocktails. Open seating model with indoor/outdoor dining.
2. Court Reservations and Play Fees: Pickleball court reservations (indoor and outdoor), equipment rentals, league fees, and instruction/classes including kids camps.
3. Private Events and Catering: Corporate events, team building, birthday parties, fundraisers, and wedding hosting with customizable food and beverage packages.
4. Loyalty Program and App: Mobile app-based loyalty rewards program (CNP Rewards) with tiered membership (Bronze Egg, Golden Chicken, Platinum Pickler) earning 5 points per $1 spent.
5. Merchandise Sales: Online merchandise store (cnpswag.com) selling branded apparel and gear.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Chicken N Pickle operates indoor/outdoor eatertainment complexes that combine a chef-driven casual restaurant and sports bar with indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, yard games, and private event spaces. The company sells food and beverage service, court reservations and instruction, organized leagues and camps, private event hosting, and merchandise across 13 company-owned locations in 8 US states.

Product overview

Chicken N Pickle is an eatertainment complex combining casual chef-driven dining with recreational pickleball and yard games. The core offering centers on pickleball courts (available for reservation with equipment rental) paired with a full-service restaurant and sports bar featuring wood-fired rotisserie chicken and handcrafted cocktails. The experience is enhanced by outdoor yard games (cornhole, Jenga, Battleship, shuffleboard), private event spaces for corporate and social gatherings, seasonal programming (Soccer Central, winter experiences), and family-oriented activities (Kids Crew, Summer Junior Camps). Supporting offerings include a loyalty rewards program with tiered benefits, gift cards, and community engagement initiatives. The company operates 13 locations nationwide as of 2025, having grown from a single Kansas City venue founded in 2016.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pickleball Courts Indoor and outdoor pickleball courts available for reservation at all 13 locations, with on-site equipment rental (paddles and balls) and professional instruction offered.
• Casual Restaurant and Sports Bar Full-service chef-driven casual restaurant and sports bar featuring wood-fired rotisserie chicken, house-ground burgers, smoked wings, seasonal salads, and handcrafted cocktails with indoor/outdoor open seating.
• Yard Games Outdoor recreational activities including cornhole, Jenga, Battleship, Connect Four, and shuffleboard available to guests at all locations.
• Private Events and Catering Private event spaces and catering packages for corporate events, team-building, birthdays, fundraisers, weddings, and celebrations with flexible indoor/outdoor spaces, custom menus, and dedicated event hosts.
• Pickleball Leagues Organized competitive pickleball leagues in men's, women's, and mixed divisions ranging from beginner to advanced levels, offered year-round at company locations.
• Summer Junior Pickleball Camps Day camps for children ages 7-13 featuring pickleball instruction, lunch, and t-shirts held during summer months on indoor, air-conditioned courts at multiple locations.
• Sunday Brunch Buffet Weekly Sunday brunch service from 9am-2pm featuring made-to-order omelettes, fresh waffles, CNP classics, and mimosas.
• Soccer Central Tournament viewing experience featuring game-day food and drink specials at all locations airing matches, including shareable offerings like the Kickoff Platter ($50) and Fried Penalty Kick Pickles ($10).
• Rotisserie Chicken To-Go Locally sourced rotisserie chicken available for takeout at $25, complete with tortillas, avocado, serrano pepper, and chimichurri sauce, with complimentary Queso and Chips included with every To-Go order.
• Gift Cards Gift cards available for purchase online enabling recipients to enjoy dining and entertainment experiences at any of the 13 Chicken N Pickle locations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 years of consecutive growth from single location to 13 nationwide
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and minor.

• Six Zero PaddlesstrategicTechnology or Integration · 2 July 2025Nationwide partnership announced July 2025. Six Zero is a pickleball paddle brand providing equipment for use at all 13 Chicken N Pickle locations.
• Special OlympicsstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial sponsor of Special Olympics. Supporting fundraising and sponsoring team practices on courts. Working together to make pickleball an official sport of the Special Olympics.
• Ability 360minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for adaptive sports programs making pickleball accessible to all abilities. Each property has two wheelchairs to facilitate participation.
• National Restaurant Association Educational FoundationstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to establish apprenticeship program, announced April 2025. Supports workforce development in restaurant industry.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Topgolf: Topgolf operates the largest eatertainment venue network in the US (90+ locations) combining tech-enabled sports (golf) with full-service food, bars, and events. It is the closest broad incumbent to Chicken N Pickle's eatertainment model but at substantially greater scale and with a corporate parent (Callaway).
• Dave & Buster's: Dave & Buster's is the largest publicly traded eatertainment operator in the US, combining arcade gaming with full-service dining and events. While its activity mix differs (arcade vs. pickleball), it competes directly for family entertainment dollars, group events, and corporate outings.
• Bowlero / Lucky Strike: Bowlero is the largest owner and operator of bowling centers in the world, with 300+ venues offering bowling, food, beverages, and events. While its core activity is bowling, it competes in the same family entertainment and corporate-event segment and shares the high-footfall, multi-revenue-stream venue model.

Direct peers

• Puttshack: Puttshack is a tech-enabled mini-golf eatertainment concept with multiple US and UK venues, pairing activity-based entertainment with full-service dining and cocktails. It directly competes for the same suburban corporate-event, family, and date-night occasions as Chicken N Pickle.
• Swingers (by Competitive Socialising): Swingers is a competitive socializing concept pairing crazy golf with craft cocktails and street food in a venue setting. It targets the same adult group-event, date-night, and corporate-event occasions as Chicken N Pickle and shares the activity-plus-hospitality model.
• iPickle: iPickle operates dedicated indoor pickleball clubs across multiple US states with leagues, instruction, and social events. It is the most direct pickleball-specific competitor to Chicken N Pickle's court reservation and league revenue streams, though it lacks Chicken N Pickle's full dine-in experience.
• Pickleball Kingdom: Pickleball Kingdom is a rapidly expanding franchise of indoor pickleball clubs offering memberships, leagues, and instruction. It competes for the same pickleball-participant customer base as Chicken N Pickle and shares the dedicated pickleball venue model.
• The Pickle Pad: The Pickle Pad is a growing chain of indoor pickleball clubs featuring bar/food service and community programming. It directly mirrors Chicken N Pickle's pickleball-plus-hospitality concept and targets similar family and league-playing demographics.
• Flight Club (Social Darts): Flight Club operates tech-enabled social darts venues combining activity-based entertainment with full bars and food menus. It competes for the same adult social, group-event, and corporate-booking occasions as Chicken N Pickle under the same eatertainment umbrella.

Others

• Chicken Salad Chick: Chicken Salad Chick is a fast-casual chicken-focused restaurant chain with 200+ locations. While not an eatertainment venue, it competes in the broader "chicken-themed casual dining" category and shares Chicken N Pickle's core ingredient positioning around chicken-centric menus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ChickenNPickle
• Instagraminstagram.com/chickennpickle
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chicken-n-pickle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chicken N Pickle