Riverpointe Progress Continues With Chicken N Pickle Opening
Date Posted: December 14, 2023
Posted In: Projects,
From Mid Rivers Newsmagazine: On Dec. 12, Chicken N Pickle opened in the Riverpointe development along the Missouri River.
The so-called “eatertainment” complex encompasses 2.5 acres of riverfront property and has 11 indoor and outdoor pickleball courts on 76,850 square feet within its fenced boundary.
In a press statement announcing its opening, CEO Brad Clarke noted, “At Chicken N Pickle, we invented the idea of combining high-quality food, craft cocktails and the ever-growing sport of pickleball. Now we’re bringing our concept to the St. Louis area, where we know pickleball is wildly popular.”
On Dec. 6 at the annual holiday party sponsored by the Economic Development Council of St. Charles County, the mere mention of Chicken N Pickle brought loud applause and cheers of support. Maybe that enthusiasm was driven by pickleball. Maybe it was in response to the 150 new jobs that Chicken N Pickle is expected to create. Or maybe it was simply excitement that Riverpointe now has its first business after more than a decade of planning.
While the plan for Riverpointe is multi-faceted, the section that abuts the Streets of St. Charles is where Chicken N Pickle has opened. That portion of the project runs parallel to the Katy Trail and is across a Missouri River channel from the Bangert Island nature preserve, which has been an area of concern. Locals who use Bangert Island for biking and hiking have sought, throughout the project, to keep the island in a natural state.
Dan Mann, engineering director for the city of St. Charles, recently explained the progress and status of continuing work to protect and preserve Bangert Island and improve access as work on the Riverpointe development continues.
Current access to Bangert Island is a temporary, rough dirt path that runs from the Katy Trail to the western side of the island, facing where Riverpointe’s planned lake feature eventually will be built. To cross the wettest and muddiest portion at the low point of the path, cyclists and hikers ride or walk across a 4-foot by 12-foot metal grate.