This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Chicken N Pickle is a North Kansas City–founded pickleball-and-rotisserie-chicken complex. Founder Dave Johnson brought the idea back from Phoenix in December 2015, recruited longtime KC restaurateur Bill Crooks, and opened the flagship at 1761 Burlington St, North Kansas City, in 2017. A second metro room is at 5901 W 135th St, Overland Park. The brand has since grown to a multi-state eatertainment chain (company HQ still NKC) while the two KC-metro rooms remain the local product. Tier 1 — KC-founded, KC-HQ, founder-led; national expansion is disclosed, not a franchise of an out-of-market parent.1234

Description

Each complex pairs a chef-driven restaurant and sports bar with pickleball courts, yard games (bocce, shuffleboard, fowling), live entertainment, and indoor/outdoor party space — dog-friendly outdoors. The kitchen identity is wood-fired rotisserie chicken plus a full bar. Both metro rooms were on the 2026 KC Restaurant Week roster.15

Locations (KC metro)

RoomAddressPhoneHours (first-party locator)
North Kansas City (flagship)1761 Burlington St, NKC, MO 64116(816) 537-1400Mon–Wed 7am–10pm; Sun 9am–10pm (weekday/weekend remainder on the NKC page this pass)
Overland Park5901 W 135th St, Overland Park, KS 66223(913) 703-5950Mon–Wed 7am–10pm; Thu 7am–11pm; Fri–Sat 7am–midnight; Sun 7am–10pm

Out-of-metro rooms (Texas, Nevada, and others) exist; this page is the KC-metro record, not a national store locator.236

Ownership and history

Dave Johnson (also chairman of Maxus Realty Trust) conceived the concept after a December 2015 Phoenix pickleball trip, returned to Kansas City, bought land for the first site, and recruited Bill Crooks. The company dates itself to 2016; the NKC flagship “hatched” in 2017. Growth reached ~10–12 locations by 2024–25; Kansas City Business Journal reported a May 2025 shift from new-builds to acquisitions amid economic uncertainty. HQ remains North Kansas City. That is a scaled KC company, not an imported chain.147

menu_status: pending — first-party menus are per-location; not transcribed this pass. Kitchen framed as wood-fired rotisserie chicken, sandwiches, brunch buffet (NKC Sundays 9am–2pm per location events).12

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Chicken N Pickle — About (accessed 2026-08-12). Asserts: Dec 2015 Phoenix origin; Dave Johnson; Bill Crooks recruited; rotisserie chicken + beer + pickleball; indoor/outdoor courts, yard games, events. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Chicken N Pickle — Kansas City / NKC location (accessed 2026-08-12). Asserts: 1761 Burlington, North Kansas City, MO 64116; (816) 537-1400; Mon–Wed 7am–10pm, Sun 9am–10pm on that page; Restaurant Week 2026 participation with OP. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Chicken N Pickle — Overland Park and locations index chickennpickle.com (accessed 2026-08-12). Asserts: 5901 W 135th St, Overland Park, KS 66223; (913) 703-5950; hours Mon–Wed 7–10, Thu 7–11, Fri–Sat 7–midnight, Sun 7–10. ↩ ↩2

  4. Chicken N Pickle — LinkedIn company page (accessed 2026-08-12). Asserts: Founded 2016; HQ North Kansas City; flagship hatched 2017; privately held. ↩ ↩2

  5. Chicken N Pickle — News, “KC Restaurant Week Menu 2026,” Jan 9, 2026 — asserts: NKC and OP on KC Restaurant Week 2026. ↩

  6. Chicken N Pickle locations index (accessed 2026-08-12). Asserts: multi-city locator including the two metro rooms. ↩

  7. Kansas City Business Journal, “Chicken N Pickle changes growth strategy toward acquisitions,” May 30, 2025 — asserts: Dave Johnson founder and Maxus Realty Trust chairman; ~12 locations; pause new-builds for acquisitions. ↩

See also

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/chicken-n-pickle · record updated 2026-08-12