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Many successful businesses become prominent parts of their local communities, but getting to that point requires more than quality offerings and sharp marketing. It requires real care and a deep understanding of what an area lacks and what it needs. Those principles drive serial entrepreneur John Krieger’s latest venture: Paddle United Sports Club.
Padel is a doubles racket sport played on a closed court, combining elements of tennis and squash. Its defining feature lies in the glass and mesh walls that keep the ball in play, adding a fast-paced, social dimension to the game.
Krieger, best known as the co-founder of café brand Bluestone Lane, is now leading the charge to introduce the world’s fastest-growing racquet sport to the U.S. And in doing so, he’s cracked the code to monetizing the esoteric “lifestyle ecosystem.”
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holding a rally in the neighborhood
Padel United Sports Club reflects Krieger’s broader vision for governing the suburban community of Tenafly, New Jersey. The town of 15,500 has a median household income of approximately $280,000 and a median age of 48.
“Everyone is basically a young family with kids, but the city’s offerings were terrible,” Krieger says. “The people are there, but they have nowhere to go.”
His original idea was to build a facility for the many young professionals who moved from Manhattan after COVID.
“Our core thesis as a business is to create cities with a reliable, recognizable ecosystem,” explains Krieger. “A place where you can plan your entire week around it.”
Image Credit: Paddle United Sports Club
At first they weren’t sure exactly what it would look like, but one thing was certain: a premium wellness offering would be at its core.
“Everyone wants to live forever,” Krieger says. “And everyone talks about community. The reality is that as we become more digitally focused, a large portion of the population is hungry for real-life connections.”
He sees the Paddle United Sports Club as a way to bring those two needs together. The facility has all the amenities – sauna, steam room, cold plunge, IV therapy, and one of two publicly available Immortal Chambers in the tristate area. But every detail is tied to the community. The sauna isn’t a tiny two-person setup – it’s a 45-person space with three machines. The steam room can accommodate 20 people, and the cold plunge can accommodate 6 to 7 people.
Then there’s the main attraction: six indoor paddle courts, which Krieger oversees from a large window in his upstairs office.
net benefit to the community
While most Americans haven’t heard of paddle, the sport already boasts a larger global following than its more familiar cousin, pickleball. Krieger first discovered it at a racquet sports convention in Miami, where he was searching for a unique experience to set up his new facility.
Contrary to what some people believe, Krieger has nothing to do with pickleball – and believes the two sports can easily coexist. As he sees it, pickleball will continue to grow among older players, while the more athletic, under-55 demographic will increasingly migrate to paddle.
“Pickleball is so successful because it is so easy to learn and play,” Krieger says. “Anyone can come in and start over. But the incredible thing about this place is that it makes you feel good individually and collectively. You’re meeting new people, learning a new sport together.”
As Krieger points out, virtually no one in the Tenafly area had played paddle before. How could they do this without any court in the area? That shared learning curve has created a feeling of instant connection.
“People are doing this en masse,” Krieger says. “There are about 190 members here – virtually none of them knew each other 10 months ago. They all live five minutes apart, but they had never met until now.”
Today, members have become as much a part of the facility as they are equipment. Local business owners also sell their products on site, making the club an informal hub for entrepreneurs.
One of Krieger’s main goals was to provide a luxury experience without the luxury price tag. While court rental in Brooklyn or Manhattan can reach $150 an hour, Padel United charges only $45 for non-members.
“We’re building a community,” Krieger says. “We want people to feel good about themselves. We want them to have a premium experience – but we don’t want to bombard them with prices.”
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city is business
The Tenafly feature is the first step in a much bigger vision – one that aims to revolutionize the way people connect and spend their time. Krieger’s long-term goal is to create a collective membership model in which a holding company provides access to a portfolio of local brands, helping residents plan their entire week in one place.
“Instead of having separate memberships – one for paddle, another for a gym or wellness club, and another for restaurants – you’ll have one centralized platform,” Krieger explains. “From meals delivered to your home, to dinner reservations, to exclusive wine tastings with concierge-level service – it’s all connected. You can even track your spending in one place.”
In short, he wants to bring the benefits of urban life to the suburbs – without the chaos that often comes with it. “That’s one of the most gratifying parts of doing this,” Krieger says. “The places we’re building allow me to eat, play, and spend time with people who really appreciate it. We hear it all the time: It’s life-changing.”
Just minutes from the Paddle United Sports Club are Spring House and The Wandering Q, two restaurants that are part of Krieger’s larger master plan.
Within the next six months, he plans to open Blackwood Club, a large-scale indoor shooting and social facility, and Rosto Fast, a new chicken shop. There are also plans to build a boutique hotel. All of these businesses are within an eight-minute drive of each other and fall under Krieger’s holding company, Cure Companies.
As Paddle’s appeal continues to grow, Krieger is already eyeing other suburbs for expansion.
“In major cities, you can walk 50 feet and have every option you want,” he says. “We want people to have all this at home.”
Many successful businesses become prominent parts of their local communities, but getting to that point requires more than quality offerings and sharp marketing. It requires real care and a deep understanding of what an area lacks and what it needs. Those principles drive serial entrepreneur John Krieger’s latest venture: Paddle United Sports Club.
Padel is a doubles racket sport played on a closed court, combining elements of tennis and squash. Its defining feature lies in the glass and mesh walls that keep the ball in play, adding a fast-paced, social dimension to the game.
Krieger, best known as the co-founder of café brand Bluestone Lane, is now leading the charge to introduce the world’s fastest-growing racquet sport to the U.S. And in doing so, he’s cracked the code to monetizing the esoteric “lifestyle ecosystem.”
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