State-of-the-Art Pickleball Facility Opens in Riverhead

Whether you’re a serious competitor, a casual player, or you just want to learn how to play this ever-growing sport, Box Pickleball Container Bar & Kitchen in Riverhead has something for you.

The facility, which is located on Old Country Road, just celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting on Feb. 26. According to Scott Green of Hampton Bays, director of the facility and formerly the director of Around the Post Pickleball, the facility includes a full kitchen with a bar, nine state-of-the-art, self-leveled acrylic courts equipped with Selkirk tournament nets, and a fully stocked pro shop.

And there’s a unique reason for its name.

“It’s called Box Pickleball because I am sitting here talking to you right now inside of a storage container,” Green told Dan’s Papers. “They’re all storage containers that were moved into the building. My office is a storage container. There’s one above me. I’m next to the pro shop. You come in, it’s a storage container that has panels that lift up so you can check in. The bar is cut out from the storage container in the back.”

Green believes that Box Pickleball’s business model is the future of the fastest growing sport in America, due to the appeal it has for casual players.

“No matter where it is, it has to have the restaurant and the bar in it,” Green said. “It’s been a great draw for us. We are able to offer programs like ‘Lunch and Learn.’ Come for an hour clinic with our pros on Wednesday afternoon at noon, stay for lunch. Price included, $35. You can’t beat that, and they come in and have a good time. It’s a great atmosphere and great sociability. That’s what the kitchen and the bar offer.”

Green, who has been featured in Dan’s for his work with Around the Post, attributes pickleball’s growth to people looking for safe, socially distanced activities during the pandemic – and it was enjoyed well enough to survive post-pandemic. The ease of the game made it easily digestible.

“COVID hit, but you could still play pickleball because you’re six feet apart, you’re across from each other,” Green said. People wore masks and played, and older people just wanted to keep doing things. I think the first growth spurt of maybe two and a half years ago were older people. And I would ask them at our lessons, ‘Why is it you want to play pickleball?’ The answer would be, ‘Oh, I still want to stay active. I can’t play tennis anymore. It’s too much.’ Then the answer slowly became, ‘My friends are playing, and I want to be a part.’ It’s a social game, and when younger people found it, it took off. The biggest demographic driving pickleball right now is the 18 to 34 age range.

“You can go out without any instruction from us and play pickleball. It may be a lousy edition of it, but you can play it. And on the weekends here, that’s all we hear; brand new players to the game. We lend them their first paddles. They’re out, they’re playing and they’re laughing and they’re having fun. That’s the power of pickleball.”

As for the future of pickleball, Box Pickleball is actively working with local school districts and youth groups to provide training – and it could eventually become a varsity sport.

But for now, Box Pickleball Container Bar & Kitchen just wants locals to come on down and have a good time.

“If they’re a serious competitor, take a couple of lessons, learn how to play the game the right way, but you’re going to have fun, pretty much, right from the get go,” Green said. “If you can bend your knees and you have some hand-eye coordination, you can play pickleball.”

Box Pickleball Container Bar & Kitchen is located at 605 Old Country Road in Riverhead and can be reached at 631-722-8000 or box-pickleball.com.