Episode 68: The St. Pete Athletic Club Is Bringing a New Kind of Social Club to the City | Nathan Stonecipher, Jarrett Sabatini, Graham D’Amico & Reuben Pressman
What happens when four St. Pete entrepreneurs with completely different backgrounds come together to build something they believe the city is missing?
You get a project that's much bigger than pickleball.
In Episode 68 of Talkin’ St. Pete, Ryan Bogden sits down with Nathan Stonecipher of Green Bench Brewing, Jarrett Sabatini of Intermezzo, Graham D’Amico of Florida Smash, and entrepreneur Reuben Pressman to talk about the vision behind the St. Pete Athletic Club.
At the time of this conversation, the group was preparing to transform part of The Factory in St. Pete's Warehouse Arts District into an indoor athletic and social club built around pickleball, food, drinks, community, and connection.
Four St. Pete Entrepreneurs, One Big Idea
The St. Pete Athletic Club started with a problem Graham and Reuben were both seeing.
St. Pete had a huge pickleball community, but getting onto a public court could sometimes mean waiting an hour or more. At the same time, they saw an opportunity for a different kind of social club, one that felt elevated without the massive initiation fees or exclusivity of a traditional country club.
Graham and Reuben began developing the idea and eventually brought Nathan and Jarrett into the project to build out the hospitality side.
The partnership made sense because each person brought something different.
Graham had experience in professional pickleball through Florida Smash. Reuben brought a background in software, data, and technology. Nathan had spent years building Green Bench Brewing into a recognizable St. Pete brand, while Jarrett had built Intermezzo into a neighborhood cocktail and coffee destination.
Rather than one person trying to figure everything out, they built the team around what each person already knew how to do well.
More Than 14 Indoor Pickleball Courts
Pickleball may be at the center of the concept, but the group made it clear that the St. Pete Athletic Club was never meant to be just a place to reserve a court.
Their plans included 14 indoor pickleball courts, two padel courts, six table tennis setups, a gym, locker rooms, showers, a sauna, a pro shop, member spaces, and areas where people could work or take calls.
The indoor element solves a very Florida problem too.
Heat, rain, and thunderstorms don't always make outdoor pickleball easy. An indoor club gives people a place to play throughout the year without having to plan around the weather.
But you wouldn't necessarily have to play anything to enjoy the space.
The club was designed to be open to the public, with members receiving additional benefits and access to private areas.
That means someone using the Pinellas Trail could stop in for food or a drink. Someone else could meet friends, watch a game, work for a few hours, or come for a date.
That's where Nathan and Jarrett's side of the project becomes important.
They Don't Want the Food to Feel Like an Afterthought
Before building the concept, the group traveled together to visit pickleball clubs across several states.
One thing stood out.
At many of the places they visited, the sport was the focus and the food and beverage experience felt secondary.
They wanted St. Pete Athletic Club to be different.
Jarrett and Nathan describe plans for an elevated tavern or country club inspired menu with handhelds, shareable plates, healthier options, cocktails, wine, beer, and a dedicated coffee and tea program.
The goal wasn't to create a pickleball facility that happened to sell food.
They wanted the restaurant and bar to be a reason to visit on their own.
Even the courts were planned with ordering in mind, allowing players to order food and drinks without having to leave their game.
For four people building something centered around community, the social experience matters just as much as the sport.
Why The Factory Made Sense
The location was another major piece of the vision.
St. Pete Athletic Club was planned for The Factory in the Warehouse Arts District, right along the Pinellas Trail.
The group had already been developing the concept before the location came together, but finding a building large enough for what they wanted to create wasn't easy.
The Factory offered something few existing buildings in St. Pete could: enough space for the courts, restaurant, event areas, and other amenities under one roof.
It also put the club in an area the founders believe could become an even bigger part of St. Pete's future.
Nathan sees an opportunity for the project to bring more people into the Warehouse Arts District while supporting the artists, businesses, and organizations already there.
The Pinellas Trail is a big part of that opportunity too.
Instead of being only a path people use to get from one destination to another, what if more local businesses actually opened themselves toward the trail?
The St. Pete Athletic Club was designed with that possibility in mind.
Building Something Local Before Someone Else Does
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation has very little to do with pickleball.
It's about who gets to build the next version of St. Pete.
Nathan opened Green Bench Brewing in 2013, when St. Pete's brewery scene and the EDGE District looked very different. Jarrett remembers opening Intermezzo when vacant lots still surrounded parts of the neighborhood that are now filled with apartments and new development.
They've watched St. Pete change firsthand.
And with that growth comes a concern Ryan has discussed repeatedly on Talkin' St. Pete: Can the city keep growing without pushing out the independent businesses that helped make people want to be here?
Reuben, Graham, Nathan, and Jarrett knew a large national company could eventually see the same opportunity they saw.
So they decided to build it themselves.
That local ownership is important to the group.
They aren't against St. Pete growing. In fact, Nathan makes the point that dealing with the challenges created by growth is better than dealing with a city that's dying.
The bigger question is how St. Pete grows while protecting what makes it different.
Why Pickleball Fits St. Pete
Pickleball itself fits naturally into that conversation because the sport is built around something St. Pete already does well: community.
Unlike many sports, you don't necessarily need to bring your own group to play.
Graham explains that people can show up to a pickleball court, meet other players, join a game, and start building relationships. Different ages and skill levels can share the same space, and because players are physically closer together, conversation becomes part of the experience.
That's why the group sees a much bigger opportunity than simply adding more courts.
They envision tournaments, professional events, coaching, leagues, corporate events, weddings, social programming, and spaces where people can move between playing, eating, working, and hanging out.
It's an athletic club, but the real product may be connection.
What Does the Next Version of St. Pete Look Like?
St. Pete has changed dramatically.
The EDGE District, Grand Central, the Warehouse Arts District, Central Avenue, and other parts of the city have continued developing their own identities. New residents and businesses have followed.
For the founders of St. Pete Athletic Club, growth isn't something to stop.
It's something local people should have a role in shaping.
Their project brings together four entrepreneurs with different experiences who decided that instead of waiting for someone else to build what St. Pete was missing, they would try to create it themselves.
At the time of the episode, the St. Pete Athletic Club was still being developed, with the team targeting an opening in 2025. So this conversation captures the project at an early stage, before the finished club existed and before the founders knew exactly what it would become.
But their bigger question still matters:
As St. Pete keeps growing, how do we create new things without losing the local businesses, people, and communities that made the city special in the first place?
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