Social club meets pickleball: Serve & Sip brings a new way to pay and socialize in Lake Highlands

If you have never held a tennis racquet before or stepped onto a court of any kind, Alex Menzel is looking for you. He may not be able to turn you into the next Coco Gauff with the snap of a finger, but he can certainly get you volleying a wiffle ball in no time.

Because at Menzel’s pickleball paradise that opened earlier this summer off North Central Expressway, the aesthetics may elicit country club exclusivity, but the game is all about access.

“I started picking up pickleball three or four years ago, and I saw this low barrier to entry as a catalyst for its popularity picking up. And I realized that there would be a significant need for courts in Dallas,” says Menzel. “It’s a game that people from 5 years old to 85 can get out there and play. And it’s just about getting the word out.”

Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Menzel grew up in the competitive tennis world. When he moved to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University, he landed a position as a hitting partner for the women’s tennis team. After finishing grad school he went on to a career in finance, but his passion for racquet sports never left him.

That passion eventually turned into him leaving behind a job at Goldman Sachs to launch Serve & Sip, an entertainment venue that is equal parts social club, eatery and athletic space. The large warehouse offers six indoor pickleball courts, with plans to eventually expand with outdoor courts and patio space.

The courts are terracotta, both an homage to the iconic red clay at the French Open in Paris, and a strategic decision to maximize the ground’s contrast against the game’s yellow ball. Making it easier for players to track the ball is one of the ways Menzel hoped to make the space as beginner friendly as possible.

In addition to hourly court rentals, Serve & Sip also offers clinics several times a week for players who are new to the sport. The lessons cover everything from the basics of the rules of pickleball, to game strategy and technique.

“There’s a huge appetite for new and beginner levels of play,” Menzel says. “The pickleball bug is alive and thriving.”

Menzel didn’t just want to build a space where sporty Dallasites could come to dink around. He wanted to build a community space, too.

At the venue’s far end is a full service bar and kitchen called The Drop. Decorated in rich shades of chocolate, pine and rust, the eatery is aesthetically cohesive with the space. Serve & Sip co-founder Joe LaManna spearheaded The Drop’s menu development, and says he was focused on avoiding a stereotypical sports bar feel, both in the restaurant’s design and in its food offerings.

“What we really wanted to do was have a health forward menu balanced by some savory items. We have a Mediterranean bowl that’s a very protein packed, healthy salad type of item, and then we have a crispy chicken sandwich that’s going to put Chick-fil-A out of business,” LaManna says.

He adds that, as a Dallas native, he felt especially in touch with what the surrounding neighborhood would want out of The Drop’s bar.

“The frozen skinny margarita was an absolute must from that perspective,” he says.

Private events have quickly become a Serve & Sip staple, with the clubhouse able to accommodate groups up to 200. Corporate events, especially, have stood out as a favorite, as Menzel puts it, who wouldn’t want to best their boss in a match?

They plan to launch structured league play in the coming months, and other specialty events, like mahjong nights, mixology classes and pilates on the court, aim to bring in customers of all interests. A weekly “Wine Down Wednesday” offers three hours of open court play with half-off bottles of wine.

Menzel says interest from the North Dallas community has been overwhelming, and he doesn’t worry that the pickleball craze may be a passing trend. If anything, new people come in each day looking to learn.

“It’s been the fastest growing sport (in the United States) over the last five years, for sure, but in my opinion I believe it’s the fastest growing sport over the past century,” says Menzel. “And I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”