As soon as Chick-fil-A announced the release of their Pickle Pickle Pickleball Set and Bag, I knew that someone at their corporate headquarters in Georgia had a genuine appreciation for America's fastest-growing sport.

That person is Mark Cathy, the grandson of the Chick-fil-A founders. 

Cathy loves pickleball so much that he had a couple of courts installed on-site, and he hopes to install even more.

According to Kelly Mayer, a customer market insights and menu strategist for Chick-fil-A, Cathy relishes everything about the game.

"Mark Cathy took up pickleball about two years ago and he loves it. He’s a phenomenal athlete," said Mayer. "It was his dream to build pickleball courts at Chick-fil-A. Last year, his dream came true. We now have two professional grade courts inside an office building within our campus."

Employees compete in beginner and intermediate matches twice a week before and after work.

"We actually had our first pickleball tournament this summer and it was very fun," mentioned Mayer. "We had prizes, and there were about 100 people that participated."

Like Cathy, Mayer is rather skilled on the court as well.

She competes with 4.5 level players at Life Time in Peachtree Corners, GA. 

"Unfortunately, my mixed partner Matt and I ran into Mark and another 5.0 player during the tournament and they really had the upper hand," said Mayer. "But, Chick-fil-A makes everything fun. The tournament had raffles, giveaways, and good music. They also gave away some of our Pickle Pickle Pickleball sets." 

Given the success of the set, Mayer expects that more pickleball-related items will be incorporated into the Chick-fil-A gear lineup.

Chick-fil-A’s involvement with pickleball goes far beyond the fact that members of the Cathy family love to play and employees do, too.

Pickles are deeply rooted in the company's story.

"Pickles are some of our equity because the first chicken sandwich had pickles. We really started that trend, and now all these other restaurants include pickles on their sandwiches, too," noted Mayer. "Truett Cathy started the Dwarf House, which was the birthplace of the original Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich in 1946. He found so much success selling chicken sandwiches with his mother’s recipe that included a special kind of pickles. Now, there’s two pickles on every sandwich." 

As a food trend strategist, Mayer provided insight into why people enjoy pickles.

"I think it’s because you can get them spicy, sweet, or a little bit of both," she said. "They add a little bit of something extra, a little bit of twang, and a little bit of a kick to make something even better than it was."

The pickleball courts at Chick-fil-A HQ obviously makes the office a prime destination for staff members day after day.