Pickleball restaurant and bar with 8 courts opens soon in LoSo

Rally, an urban pickleball and entertainment experience, will open at the corner of Old Pineville Road and Southside Drive.

Driving the news: Rally’s class and league reservations open today, June 22, on its website. Court reservations go live Friday, June 23.

Why it matters: Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the nation, and it’s caught on in a major way in Charlotte. 

• Plus, Charlotte has a growing number of restaurants combining drinks, food and sport, such as golf venues Topgolf, Puttery and Stroke.

• There will also be four outdoor pickleball courts. Two of them, however, are still being installed — the recent rain may prevent them from being finished in time for the opening.
• The exact address is 101 Southside Dr., just down the street from Sugar Creek Brewing.
• Fall hours for the Main House and the courts are 7am-10pm Monday through Thursday and 7am-12am Friday, 8am-12am Saturday and 8am-9pm Sunday. The Annex will be open from 5-10pm Monday through Thursday, 5pm-12am Friday, 11am-12am Saturday and 11am-9pm on Sunday.

Court reservations can be made five days in advance for a 90-minute session. Equipment, such as paddles and pickleballs, is included in your reservation, as is access to a players’ lounge.

Classes include pickle pump (a cardio-focused fitness class for all levels with fast-paced pickleball drills and matchplay scenarios at 7am on Monday and Wednesday and 5pm on Tuesday) and Rally rookies (an evening social designed to teach you how to play the game every Wednesday at 5pm).

Rally offers two leagues. 

• Leisure League will meet every Tuesday at 6pm. It’s a no-strings-attached weekly competition, so you aren’t signing up for a multi-week commitment. It’s open to all levels.
• Rally Ranks is where things get more competitive. Intermediate and advanced players will meet Mondays at 6pm, and a team of four will play eight games versus two other teams. Rally Ranks will be split up into multiple groups. Teams will be promoted or relegated based on their record every two weeks, and the top team will be crowned No. 1 monthly.

Price: Court reservations are for groups of eight people or less. Off-peak indoor times are from 7am-12pm Monday through Friday and cost $72 for an outdoor court and $84 for an indoor court.

• Mid-peak court times run from 12-5pm Monday through Friday and 7am-12pm Saturday and Sunday. It’s $90 for an outdoor court and $104 for an indoor court.
• Peak-time reservations are 5pm until close Monday through Friday and 12pm until close Saturday and Sunday. It’s $126 for an outdoor court and $144 for an indoor court.
• Leisure League costs $75 per team. Rally Ranks costs $480 per team.
• Classes range from $26-$30.

Food: Rally will have a full-service restaurant led by executive chef Cory Chunn, who was on Top Chef and was previously the executive chef at La Belle Helene. The menu is inspired by global street food. 

• The menu will feature five Neapolitan-style pizzas to start, kebabs, charcuterie and dip boards, shareables like tuna nachos, a burger, tacos, a BLT sandwich, salads, and bowls.
• It’ll have elevated versions of a meat and cheese boards, Chunn tells Axios, like with a yellow lentil hummus dip board with house-made pita.
• Shareables will start around $9, $15-$22 for pizza, $4.50-$5.50 per taco, $11-$18 for salads and $11-$17 for bowls.
• Chunn named one of the pizzas for his 6-year-old daughter, Eleanor. It includes fresh rosemary, parmesan, finocchiona (Italian sausage), a tomato base and a hazelnut-pesto swirl on top.

• Seating will be first-come, first-served and you’ll order food using a QR code. The full bar and food menu will be available in the Main House and The Annex.

• You can pick up locally sourced pastries at the cafe.

Drink: Rally’s bar will feature mocktails and cocktails, including ones with a nod to the Carolinas, like the Cheerwine Negroni, made with gin, sweet vermouth, Campari, blackberry syrup and finished with an orange peel.

• Award-winning mixologist Jackson Cannon created the drink menu.  
• Rally’s cafe will serve Night Swim Coffee, including a Rally-specific blend with notes of citrus, honey and milk chocolate.

Bonus: Rally also has an apparel collection, which was designed in-house and includes hats ($34), T-shirts ($36), sweatshirts ($68-$78) and a tote ($12).

Context: Barrett Worthington, a Davidson College alumna, and Megan Charity co-founded Rally. Charity, a world-ranked professional pickleball player, will lead the pickleball program, which will include events, social leagues and tournaments. 

What they’re saying: “We always envisioned Rally as a place where active millennials like us could play pickleball in a vibrant, elevated social environment, all while enjoying premium cocktails and cuisine,” Charity said in a statement.

What’s next: Charlotte is Rally’s first location. The owners plan to expand to cities across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast in the coming years.

Zoom out: Missouri-based chain Chicken N Pickle, another food-meets-sport concept, is also eyeing Charlotte for expansion, as we reported.

My thought bubble: Since I initially wrote about pickleball’s rise, it’s been everywhere. I’ve even watched coverage of a tournament on Hulu!

Of note: Liles Construction is Rally’s general contractor. Redline Design Group is the architect. Lumber & Light is the interior designer. Action Floors oversaw the courts. Lat Purser & Associates’ James Craig represented Rally in the leasing transaction and Rob Speir with Colliers represented the landlord.

Take a look around. 

Editor’s note: This story was first published in April 2022 and updated in September 2023 to reflect Rally’s fall hours.