Box Pickleball opens in Riverhead

Come for a game of pickleball. Stay for a burger. Or a cocktail. Or all of the above.

That could be the slogan for Box Pickleball Container Bar & Kitchen in Riverhead, a new indoor pickleball facility and eatery.

An avid pickleball player for the past decades, Carl Krause purchased a lifetime membership for $5,000 to the new club and comes with his wife, Karen, as many as three times a week. The lifetime memberships were a limited run offer that sold out in mid-January and can be used at any future Box Pickleball facilities. But the new center is catered more to the drop-in player, who only has to shell out $20 for a two-hour member session, or $30 without the commitment.  

"We play and usually after we get done playing, we stop at the kitchen and get something to eat and have a drink and socialize with the people here," says Krause, 65, who’s retired from National Grid and lives in Riverhead. 

In addition to their enjoyment of the game, Krause says they really love the burgers, crab cakes and wings. "You would never think going into a pickleball place that you’d have such quality food," says Krause. "This is a whole other level."

From box store to pickleball hub

Though he had no experience running a sports facility, owner Peter Bachmore, who’s also an attorney for an investment bank, got the idea a couple of years ago with some friends from the Bayport/Blue Point area looking to "give back some sort of facility or community center that we could all invest in and have a part of."

Bachmore and his friends leased a 30,000-square-foot section of the space in Riverhead that formerly housed Kmart and converted 11 refurbished shipping containers, also known as "boxes," into a front desk, pro shop, offices and bar/kitchen area.

"We wanted to do something different," Bachmore says. "We wanted to do something that was appealing, had a different story and maybe have a little bit of an environmental impact."

Though they didn’t personally have pickleball experience, the owners hired professionals who did, such as a head of pickleball operations who’s certified to give lessons and run clinics and tournaments.

Members and nonmembers can come in for open play or reserve one of the nine courts and take individual or group lessons from certified instructors, who can teach all ages and levels.

"You don’t have to be a member and you don’t necessarily have to come in just to play pickleball," Bachmore says. "We have the food. We have the bar. We’re offering live music most weeks."

Comfort food with a pickleball twist

Justin Tempelman, Box Pickleball Container Bar & Kitchen’s food and beverage director, has been in the restaurant business for 30 years and still owns JT's Cafe in Blue Point.

"We specialize in classic comfort food with a twist," says Tempelman, noting that some of the more popular dishes are the Box of Balls (turkey meatballs and garlic bread served in a box), smash burgers, calamari and wings.

There’s also a full bar, with some specialty drinks including a Stormy Box (rum, ginger beer, and lime juice) and The Box Bloody, a Bloody Mary made with pickle juice and garnished with gherkins and pickle spears.

As its reputation grows, Box Pickleball Container Bar & Kitchen is attracting clientele coming in just for the kitchen, notes Tempelman.

"Some of our regulars are just stopping in, checking it out, saying hello to their friends," Tempelman says. "They’re not even playing pickleball."

The facility also features two bocce courts. An eight-week league that ends April 16 is currently running during the week.

"We are really trying to be an entertainment destination for Long Island and elsewhere," Bachmore says.