New York’s Pig Beach BBQ to Open in Southie’s PKL Pickleball Venue
Starting in October, fuel up for your match with pulled pork shoulder, beef brisket, and fried chicken.
A spread of Pig Beach BBQ foods at PKL. / Tierney Gregory
Pickleball and barbecue: a tempting duo, coming this fall when New York-based Pig Beach BBQ opens inside South Boston’s PKL. The indoor facility—which opened two years ago with five courts, bar bites, and cocktails—will unveil its all-new menu in October, a collaboration with the nine-year-old Brooklyn-born, Queens-based restaurant that’s sure to satisfy adrenaline junkies and barbecue lovers alike.
It makes sense that stakeholders in the business of pickleball are thinking outside the box when it comes to making their venues stand out. The Greater Boston pickleball scene has been exploding over the past few years, and there are currently over 80 courts in Boston alone—plus more in the suburbs, and even more to come.
“There’re natural synergies between food, sports, and entertainment,” says Dustin Martin, cofounder of PKL and a veteran small business owner, who—along with the other founding members of the pickleball venture, Brian Weller and Kaitlyn Coakley—owns a trio of Boston-based high-intensity fitness centers called Barry’s Bootcamp.
Brisket and more at Pig Beach BBQ at PKL. / Photo by Tierney Gregory
At PKL, there’s already a trove of non-pickleball activities at the courts, including shuffleboard and cornhole, as well as non-athletic attractions like trivia nights and live music. Since its 2022 opening, PKL has already served bar snacks, sandwiches, and plenty of cocktails. But now the team has its sights on leveling up with a new barbecue menu.
Enter Pig Beach BBQ cofounder Matthew Abdoo, an award-winning chef from Hartford, New York, who left the fine-dining world to take his talents to the smoker. “Something I love to say is that our menu is our best representation of those classical barbecue regions, but with our own chef’s spin,” Abdoo says. Think Texas brisket, Memphis-style ribs and Carolina-style pork shoulders, but all uniquely spiced up with Abdoo’s carefully curated recipes. “One of the greatest compliments I can ever get as a chef is when we have Texans come in and they’re like, ‘Man, that brisket is just as good as what I get back home.’”
Abdoo talks a big game, but he’s racked up accolades to back it up, both on the barbecue circuit (multiple Memphis in May World Championship first-place wins, a grand champion win at the Shelter Island Whole Hog Invitational) and food festival rounds (various People’s Choice wins and other awards at South Beach Wine & Food Festival and New York Wine & Food Festival).
Pig Beach BBQ’s smoked, fried wings come with hot honey dry rub and sweet and spicy sauce; Pig Beach BBQ dry rub; or Hatch vinegar Buffalo; and each variety is served with Alabama white sauce. / Photo by Tierney Gregory
While fans of PKL’s current menu will soon have to bid farewell to fish tacos, pigs in blankets, and chicken sliders on the longstanding menu, they’ll be able to recharge after a long pickleball session with dishes like: peach- and honey-glazed babyback ribs; smoked, fried wings with Alabama white sauce for dipping; salt-and-pepper beef brisket; and a vegan-friendly jackfruit sandwich that mimics the texture of pulled pork. There’s a cod sandwich, too (served blackened or fried)—a nod to New England seafood. Says Abdoo, “We couldn’t forget about what makes Boston’s food scene special.”
Interestingly, the driving factor behind this collaboration wasn’t Boston’s irresistability to an out-of-town chef, but the growing competition in the local pickleball industry. “We felt like we really needed to enhance our food offering to bring a new angle to PKL’s experience,” Martin says. And he knew exactly who to call: Rob Shawger, whom he’d met in 2010 during his New York City finance days, one of Pig Beach BBQ cofounder’s with Abdoo and another chef/pitmaster extraordinaire, Shane McBride.
This partnership, eight months in the making, will launch in mid-October, with the Pig Beach BBQ menu available at PKL for brunch, all-day dining, and event catering. “We have an audience that we’ve already captured, but we believe it can really grow with what Pig Beach offers,” Martin says. “It’s unique and delicious.”
Pig Beach BBQ at PKL’s smash burger with wagyu patties, American cheese, griddled onions, dill pickles, and secret sauce (available with bacon jam as an optional add-on). / Photo by Tierney Gregory
64 C St., South Boston, playpkl.com.
