The pickleball facility operator “The Pickle Lodge” in the Cincinnati area of Ohio, USA, acquired “ACES Pickleball Bar & Grill” inside Factory 52 in Norwood.June 1, 2026The handover was as of, and with this the company becomes a regional chain holding3 locations and 51 courts in all. The financial terms of the acquisition are undisclosed. Co-founder Mitch Dunn positions it as “strategic expansion.”
A 3-location, 51-court structure through the acquisition
The Pickle Lodge, with its 2024-opened Westchester location as its flagship, acquired the Eastern Hills Indoor Tennis Club in eastern Cincinnati in 2025. This ACES acquisition adds a third location. ACES is a facility with 5 indoor and 6 outdoor courts, and all three locations have an attached bar and restaurant. At the Factory 52 location, Mason-born Two Cities Pizza also continues to operate.
A move toward industry reorganization by “experienced operators”
Dunn commented, “Cincinnati pickleball has grown rapidly over the past few years, and as demand grows, experienced operators can contribute to the market.” Co-founder Joe Frank said, “We'll elevate the play experience while keeping the community that already exists at ACES.” It can be called an acquisition that shows a maturing, reorganizing phase of the industry, where an established operator bundles up the individually run facilities that had sprung up.
Implications for facility operations in Japan
The approach of acquiring multiple food-attached court facilities to stack up court numbers lets you take regional share faster than a single new opening. In Japan too, new openings of urban indoor facilities and resort-attached courts are coming one after another, and the U.S. “food × pickleball × multi-location” model serves as a real-world reference for designing profitability and customer-drawing pathways.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Acquiring company | The Pickle Lodge (Ohio) |
| Acquisition target | ACES Pickleball Bar & Grill (Factory 52 / Norwood) |
| Handover date | June 1, 2026 (amount undisclosed) |
| Number of locations | 3 locations and 51 courts in all |
| ACES' composition | 5 indoor courts, 6 outdoor courts |
| Attached | A bar and restaurant at all locations |
Recommended Reading:
andThe world's largest pickleball facility, “PURE”—the full picture of the 48-court complex approved in Scottsdale
and"PICKLEBALL ONE GINZA SHIMBASHI," Tokyo's first urban-type indoor facility, in Shimbashi
andSix courts, the most in western Japan, on a Sakai, Osaka hotel rooftop—the lodging that “Pickleball Base Osaka” points to
Source:FOX19
