The Picklr in Goleta is rebranding as “The Grove Pickleball,” and will offer lower prices to play.
Owner Ted Guggenheim said he decided to break from The Picklr franchise because he was losing money under that business model.
“It’s not a mystery that franchises are generally frowned upon or not supported the same way as local businesses,” Guggenheim said.
The Picklr Santa Barbara opened inside the former Bed Bath and Beyond space at the Fairview Center in January. It opened for business in May.
Guggenheim said the cost of renting the facility is expensive. He hopes the lower prices will bring more members.
The Grove Pickleball was announced on Sept. 2, and the facility will offer lower prices and more payment options for people to play starting Monday, Sept. 14.
The name is a nod to the lemon grove that used to sit where the Fairview Center is now, Guggenheim said.
Guggenheim has lived in Santa Barbara for three years. He and his wife Trish made friends in the city by playing pickleball.
“We found some of the most welcoming people on the courts,” Guggenheim said.
They partnered with the Picklr franchise to turn their idea into a reality, and hired 14 part-time staff to help with working the front desk and coaching players.
Eui Oh, a part-time coach and the co-owner of Yogurtland in Goleta started coaching pickleball at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oh, who coached pickleball at the Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club before switching over to private lessons, jumped on the opportunity to coach at the indoor facility in Goleta.
“I love helping new players develop,” said Oh, who has traveled the world playing pickleball as an internationally certified coach and professional player.
Member Connie Boyd joined for the quality of the indoor facility and to reserve courts in advance. Boyd said the indoor facility saved her from the outdoor heat and the pain in her feet from playing on harder concrete.
Other outdoor pickleball courts in Santa Barbara are mostly free. Guggenheim said this has been their only competition in the pickleball scene in the city.
But with the rebranding of the Picklr to the Grove, Guggenheim hopes the lower prices and local ownership will draw more people to come play.
It’s $25 to drop-in and play for the day, and $195 per month for a standard “Grove pass” or membership. A Picklr membership used to cost $225 per month, Guggenheim said.
People can also pay $50 to reserve a pickleball court for an hour, and students at UCSB and Santa Barbara City College can get a student pass for $75 per month.
Guggenheim said with the El Nino winter approaching, he predicts more people are going to want to play indoors.
But for now, Guggenheim hopes with luck and timing the rebranding will help bring more membership and money to the Goleta business.
“I’m hopeful that this change in our approach, being truly locally owned and operated and being more flexible and lower priced, is going to appeal to a lot more people than it did previously,” Guggenheim said.
