Blackwood’s Shoppes at Gloucester Township will be undergoing a previously approved expansion, which will also benefit the not-yet-opened “Pickle Juice” indoor pickleball and juice bar facility… allowing them to open later this summer with six courts instead of the previously announced four.
Pickleball is a fun game sweeping the country with over 30 million people playing each year! It’s a court smaller than tennis, and a cross between ping pong and tennis. Check the 42Freeway video at the end of the article!
The shopping center is located on the Black Horse Pike at the Davistown Road intersection, close to the Outlets. The center is most well known to area residents for Sam’s Bar and Grill.
We originally told readers about the plans for Pickle Juice Blackwood a year ago. Since then they’ve opened in Ventnor Heights, and the membership interest in both facilities has caused the owners to increase the size of Blackwood’s location for the initial build-out.
At the Shoppes at Gloucester Township shopping center, front facade upgrades have already been taking place… with that effort coinciding with the signing and opening of a recent Dollar Tree location.
For the center expansion, the L-shaped shopping center will see new square footage added to each end of the facility.
At the right side end of the center (closer to Dunkin), a 3,600sf addition will be added which will be made available for future tenants.
If you look at that end of the center today, in that area you’ll see that prior improvements to the curbing and parking lot at the end of the building basically frames-out the space of the upcoming addition.
On the left side where Sam’s Bar is, a 4,240sf expansion will take place BEHIND Sam’s bar, filling in that “notch” of the building and squaring off the corner with the new construction.
This left-side expansion was originally approved to support up to three units with front entrances on the side facing Davistown Road… but with the Pickle Juice expansion plans, the indoor pickleball facility will also be taking over that space!
So to fully paint the Pickle Juice picture, they will have their originally announced large space at the front side of the shopping center, directly between Sam’s Bar and Dollar Tree. Then… their unit in the rear will turn left behind Sam’s Bar into the soon-to-be constructed new space.
Likely there will be four pickleball courts in the main unit as originally planned, and then the new space will accommodate two more courts!
I heard from the owner of the shopping center (MLG Realty) who tells 42Freeway that the expansion project was previously approves several years ago.
Ahead of the construction, they just received their Soil Conservation permit from the County, and are in the process of acquiring building permits from the township.
Once the permits are received they expect construction to start soon after, with a completion date of sometime in the summer (if everything goes to plan)
Pickle Juice – Open In Ventnor, Blackwood in 2024
According to a recent CNBC report, more than 36 million people played Pickleball from August 2021 to August 2022. Earlier data pinned the participation rate of the sport at 5 million players in 2021. Pickleball, often described as a combination of tennis, ping-pong and badminton, grew nearly 40% between 2019 and 2021, making it America’s fastest-growing sport.
Pickle Juice founder and Co-Owner Lisa Brody says “Almost every day for five years, I’d say to my husband – I’m going to go play Pickle and grab a juice. And then I thought… that’s a great name and concept to open up some courts with a juice bar!”
Within months, properties were scouted and leases were signed.
A 17,300 square foot location in Ventor opened in October of 2023 with 5 courts.
The blackwood location was initially signed for 13,500+ square feet for four courts, but as I’ve described in the beginning of this article, interest in memberships has been so strong they are already expanding the space to support six courts, even before they have started the buildout!
“Our vision was to make people feel welcome when they walk in,” added Brody. “The unique design elements of the space will bring the feeling of the outdoors in, and the refreshing juice bar will give players the opportunity to energize while they sit and stay or grab and go.”
Each location promises to serve up an experience for everyone from junior players to the most loyal and advanced Picklers.
Look for the following amenities to be offered at each location:
- Membership packages
- Juice Bar offering seasonal fresh fruit and ingredients
- Pro Shop with retail options from apparel to paddles
- Open Play
- Clinics
- Tournaments
- Private and Group Lessons
- And more…
“If I can start a business doing something that I love,” says Brody, “isn’t that the key to success?”
Links and Locations
Pickle Juice
The Shoppes at Gloucester Township
Black Horse Pike and Davistown Road
Blackwood NJ