Mahomes, Kelce are investors in KC restaurant and sports chain now expanding across US

Chicken N Pickle opened its first location in North Kansas City in 2017, well before the sport of pickleball was the phenomenon it is today.

“When we first started, all day every day we were explaining to people what pickleball was,” said president Kelli Alldredge. “I could never have predicted the growth and boom we’ve seen over the last few years.”

Chicken N Pickle has taken savvy advantage of its early-adopter status, opening seven additional “eatertainment” complexes — which feature yard games, sports bars, fast-casual dining and, of course, pickleball courts — in multiple other cities, including Overland Park, Wichita and, as of last week, Glendale, Arizona.

More are on the way. Chicken N Pickle announced Monday that it will open seven more locations before 2025, a national expansion funded in part by the $10 million it recently raised from roughly 30 investors. Among them are two very famous Kansas City Chiefs: quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.

“They’ve both spent time at our properties here in Kansas City going back several years,” Alldredge said. “They’re real competitors, and it’s always great to have them come out and play. I don’t think there’s one person in this group of investors that doesn’t have personal experience with Chicken N Pickle and really love our company.”

The first seven Chicken N Pickles were located in cities along Interstate 35, Alldredge said. The upcoming outposts are planned for St. Charles, near St. Louis; Allen, Texas; Webster, Texas; Fishers, Indiana; Henderson, Nevada; Thornton, Colorado; and Parker, Colorado.

“We’ve been entertaining inquiries from all over the nation,” Alldredge said. “Right now, our focus is on being the first concept like this in as many cities as we can.”

Alldredge said Chicken N Pickle now employs around 1,500 part-time and full-time workers across the country. It remains headquartered in North Kansas City, next to the original location.

“We plan to continue bringing jobs to Kansas City and growing our corporate headquarters here,” she said.