Dink & Dine Pickle Park Brings Play, Food, and Community Together for a New Kind of Experience
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Show Notes:
In this episode of Mission Matters, Adam Torres interviews Monica Challingsworth, Co-Founder of Dink & Dine Pickle Park, about the innovative concept launching in Mesa, Arizona. Monica shares her journey in the hospitality industry and how she’s using her experience to create a space where people can gather, play, eat, and connect—all in one welcoming venue.
About Monica Challingsworth
Monica Challingsworth is a dynamic leader and entrepreneur with a diverse portfolio spanning multiple industries. As the CEO of Eustress and Demeter, Co-Founder of Dink & Dine Pickle Park, Founder of Moai, and a dedicated investor and mentor to women-owned businesses, Monica is passionate about driving innovation and transformative growth.
At Eustress and Demeter, Monica leads a full-service restaurant consulting firm that specializes in building sales programs for multi-unit restaurants and independent operators. Founded in 2017 to fill a void in the restaurant industry, the firm has generated over $50 million in off-premises sales, collaborating with top names in hospitality and private equity. Monica focuses on developing, engaging, and sustaining clients’ most important assets – their people and top-line revenue.
About Dink & Dine Pickle Park
Dink & Dine Pickle Park, co-founded by Monica, offers a unique blend of recreation and culinary experiences. This innovative facility combines the fast-growing sport of pickleball with gourmet dining, creating a dynamic and engaging environment for all ages.
Watch Full Interview:
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Mission Matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest in the show, just head on over to mission matters.com and click on be Our Guest to Apply. Alright, so today I’m in Los Angeles, California and I’m covering the original mixer.
This is the second time that Mission Matters has been out here. On behalf of Kathleen Ley and the Los Angeles Consulting Group. And man, it is just quite an event. And my next guest today is Monica. She’s one of the sponsors. Monica, welcome to the show. Hi. Thank you. Alright, so I gotta know the origin story.
How’d you meet either Kathleen or Heath or how’d you get introduced to the original mixer? Uh, it’s actually a really fun story. So Masha, who’s one of my closest girlfriends, mm-hmm. Uh, used to work at the Lux Hotel. Oh, stop. I probably, by the way, for everybody at home, the events at the Lux Hotel. Okay, go ahead.
Yes. Probably 10 years ago. Mm. And so she, I mean, Kathleen does an amazing job here. Yeah. And just really well connected with, I mean, even when we were talking about like, getting the valets involved and making sure we were giving them treats mm-hmm. And snack boxes. And, uh, so Masha was helping her. Book these events years ago.
Yeah. And so when I started din and d three and a half years ago, Masha said, you need to meet Kathleen. Mm. So she introduced us via email and Kathleen said to me, ’cause I’m nobody, she said to me, if you’re Masha’s family, if you’re Masha’s friend, you’re mine. Stop. And so that was it. Why is Kathleen A.
Little sweetie like that? She’s amazing. She’s amazing. So she introduced us. To some of the events that they have. Whiskey Wednesday was one of our first ones that we went to, and I ended up meeting the most incredible group of people. Yeah, we’ve all really become really good friends. We’ve had some investors through that group and a lot of business partners through that group, and so part of being a part of the original mixer was.
In a way of thank you to Kathleen for everything and just to continue to be the best partners that we can be because she’s been incredible to us. Ah, that’s amazing. Well, speaking of credible, tell us about Deacon Dying. Like how’d you get that idea? You’re a founder. Yes. Like how, how’d that come about?
Yes. So our original partner, uh, his name is Dave. Mm-hmm. Dave and I were talking, uh, it was during COVID and I, and I had COVID at the time and I was all cranky and. Perfect time to start a business. I have COVID and I’m cranky. Let’s start a business. It really was. It was just kind of the idea of, you know, people are always looking for something to do that isn’t just going to a bar to drink or going to a restaurant, but how do you do something that’s active and fun and engaging and has community and all these things that we’re looking for.
Mm-hmm. And we were missing so much of that in COVID. Yeah. And so we were just talking about like. What if we could create the place that brought everybody there? Mm-hmm. And we have owned and owned restaurant consulting groups outside of DIN and d. And so we are real operators. We know how this works. We know what it takes to do this, and so we said.
You know, I, I think out of anybody if we put this, we call ourselves the lovingly, the Entertainment Dream team, the Eat Entertainment Dream team One eat entertainment, dream Team eater. Is that like your crew that eat entertainers? Heck, kind of. That’s cool. Dang, you better trademark that one. If that one’s not done at the Eater retainers, that’s, I don’t think, I don’t think it is.
All right. Nobody take that. That’s ours. Awesome. Now, okay. But so we did, so we have this amazing group of people that we worked together on other projects and, and ding and d came to life. And so it’s been three and a half years, and now we’re about six weeks out from finally opening our first location, Mesa, Arizona.
That’s amazing. It’s really incredible. How long have you been in the industry? You mentioned that you’ve been operators for a bit. Gosh. I mean, my degree in hospitality management. Oh, wow, okay. Kent State, Ohio. Mm-hmm. And I moved to California two days after I graduated college. Mm. And worked for some really incredible restaurant groups.
Started my business now eight years ago. Mm-hmm. Of the restaurant consulting side, and then din and dine three and a half years. Mm-hmm. And so on our, on our team, I’d say I’m probably the youngest. Yeah. I don’t wanna say 30 years, but probably. Mm-hmm. And our team is just a very seasoned group. Yeah. That we’ve, we’ve all gone through the wringer.
We’ve done this a million dimes, we’ve opened up hundreds of restaurants. Wow. And so, so we’ve, we’ve been very slow and steady to get here, which, which I think is amazing. Mm-hmm. Because I, I know a lot of our competitors had been, you know, really racing to the finish line. Everybody kept saying that it’s, it’s this whole.
Like, we gotta jump in and get into real estate and do all these things. Mm-hmm. And we kept saying, you know, like, let’s, let’s do things. The right way. Yeah. And in the right amount of time. Mm-hmm. And you know it, here we are. So tell us about the concept for Din and Dine and like you said, it’s gonna be a Mesa Like, tell us about the concept and what it entails.
So, din and Dine Pickle Park is very much a food and beverage pickleball eat entertainment venue. Mm-hmm. So you think about, you know. You could go to a gym or a park and be able to play pickleball. Yeah. But we take it about 17,000 steps further, so. So there’s no admission to get in. Mm-hmm. So if you just wanted to come in and bring your family, the kids, the dog mm-hmm.
And just enjoy being a part of the park. Yeah. And listen to live music. You are welcome to. Mm-hmm. If you wanted to then come in and, you know, get a couple tips further, take that and have a picnic in the park. Mm. We have a whole picnic basket concept, which is my favorite. Nice. And or get pizzas in the park.
We, we have an amazing pizza oven to do homemade pizzas. Mm-hmm. And. So it’s this whole thought process of we’re all looking for a place to be a part of, to be a community. Yeah. Yeah. And you can come in and, you know, have your food and beverage experience and maybe you’ve never played pickleball or you know, you’re just, just learning and you’re just as welcome as somebody who is this amazing pickleball player who’s coming in and you know, maybe they don’t want food and beverage ’cause they’re in for like the competition, which is great.
Yeah. So we’re gonna do clinic. And lessons and tons of group events. And we have an entire building dedicated to corporate. Mm-hmm. So we have three private dining rooms. Three private courts. Two indoor courts, yeah. A lounge. And then all of that opens up onto the park. So it’s just a really. Inclusive. When is this gonna open?
This sounds fun. I’m like July 30th. Oh, that’s so soon. It’s so soon. Oh my gosh, my gosh. It’s so amazing. Alright, so there’s a lot of entrepreneurs too that watch this show. So my final question, like every concept, everything, whether it’s inter entertainment, whether it’s in um, whether it’s in hospitality, there’s always a roadblocks, there’s always hurdles, there’s always stuff.
What keeps you going? What keeps you personally going to like Oh. Continue to persevere to get to the point of opening. Yes. What keeps you going? Our team. Mm-hmm. You know, I’ve, I think about our team members that we’re hiring there. Yeah. And I’ve, because I’ve been in the hospitality world for so long.
Mm-hmm. I think how we can be better at making hospitality a better place to be a part of. Where, you know, I, gosh, I remember all of my cooks and stuff over the years. Eating behind a line. Sitting on a trash bin. Yeah. And they have like 10 seconds to shove a steak down their mouth. Somebody that somebody left over or, this is so gross.
Oh, I know. But I remember like. Putting french fries in my apron that somebody left on a table ’cause I would’ve no time to eat. And like, I don’t want that anymore. That’s hard. Core hospitality. That’s what I’m taught. That’s, that’s paying your dues right there. It’s, but now it’s like, how can we do better?
Dang. Did you call ’em apron fries? I don’t know. Shoot. I should have like bag fries. You know McDonald’s. That’s what I’m saying. But theron fries. Fried guys back. Fries. Yeah. No, you should have. No, they were just really gross apron front. So the team, yeah, the team. That’s what keeps you going. So it’s, it’s our team.
It’s that we can make a bigger impact in the hospitality space. Yeah. By doing things the right way, by being a better leadership team. Mm-hmm. By giving them a better environment to work in. Mm-hmm. To be a part of. And you know, I just. It’s very rewarding to see everything that we’ve put in and, you know, generations are different now.
Mm-hmm. And so we, but we wanna lean into that. We don’t wanna shy away from that. So. Amazing. Yeah. Well, last thing I want you to do, I want you to look into the camera. How do people follow up? How do they learn more? How do they visit this place once it’s open? Yes. So we are opening in Mesa Riverview July 30th.
So you can find [email protected]. You’re welcome to email me directly, [email protected] and follow us on Instagram. Amazing for everybody listening, just so you know, we’ll definitely put the links in the show notes, so you can just click on the link and head right on over. And speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with Mission Matters and you haven’t done it yet, hit that subscribe or follow button.
This is a daily show. Each and every day we’re bringing you new content, new ideas, and hopefully new inspiration to help you along the way in your journey as well. So again, hit that subscribe or follow button. And Monica, thanks again for coming to the show. Thank you so much.