A pickleball venue might not seem like a destination for dinner, but once word of the chicken tenders gets out, there will be long lines waiting to order.
And yes, they came from Dink’d, a nine-court, indoor pickleball venue on Fury’s Ferry Road in Evans.
Dan Bower is co-owner of the new facility on Fury’s Ferry Road in the former Final Cut location. He’s also a chef and former restaurant manager who admits to being the brains behind the chicken tenders, but won’t reveal his secret recipe.
Bower had been a chef in exotic places like Honolulu, but he and his wife Nancy wanted to relocate their family to Augusta to be near her sister and her family. The Bowers moved from Hawaii to Augusta where he became the general manager of the Pinnacle Club and Edgar’s On Broad.
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The brothers-in-law began looking for business opportunities and came up with an idea of opening an indoor pickleball venue in Augusta for the “fastest growing sport in the world.” Bower owns Dink’d with his brother-in-law, Troy Akers, a local emergency room doctor.
Since opening in July, more than 30,000 people have walked through the doors of Dink’d, Bower said. And plenty of them have stopped for those chicken tenders. Moist, tender, perfectly seasoned, and served with a choice of sauces that complement the simple battered chicken.
One of the servers behind the bar called them “life-altering.” That may be a bit of hyperbole, but they are worthy of return visits.
The restaurant is located in the back of the venue and is open to the public. To reach it, guests walk between the two rows of pickleball courts. There are tables and chairs in an upstairs loft that overlooks the courts and along the walkway between the courts.