What should go into a 46,761-square-foot grocery store that has been dark for more than two years? At Olde Mill Shopping Center, where Roswell Road meets Old Canton Road, the answer is now 12 pickleball courts.
On Oct. 20, Cobb commissioners voted 4-0 to allow an indoor sports facility in the former Walmart Neighborhood Market. The Pickle Pad and Crave Social Eatery can now move in. County parks staff first proposed adding courts at Shaw Park in February. That plan is still waiting to go out to bid, and the grocery store got its approval in about a month. East Cobb's next wave of courts looks likely to arrive through empty retail boxes before it arrives through public parks.
Twelve Courts Where the Produce Aisle Was
The plan for the old Walmart includes 12 pickleball courts, four golf simulators, special games, an arcade, and a kitchen and bar. The space would be open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. According to East Cobb News, a report published last fall described private cabanas for parties and corporate events, plus cornhole, shuffleboard, darts and pool tables, with the golf simulators in the back.
The franchisee is Jay Mathis, an East Cobb resident who once ran a racquetball complex in Jacksonville. He told East Cobb News he has been eyeing the building since shortly after Walmart closed it. The Pickle Pad and Crave are paired concepts already open in Tallahassee, Florida, and Port Arthur, Texas. Mathis calls the East Cobb location the first of four he plans in metro Atlanta. The others would be in Kennesaw, at The Battery, and near Perimeter Mall.
"This isn't just for high-end pickleball players," Mathis said at the hearing, as reported by East Cobb News. "This is something for the whole family to do."
The zoning outcome explains how a sports venue fits in a neighborhood shopping center. The applicant, filed as X3 Family Entertainment Center, first asked to rezone the site from Neighborhood Retail Commercial to Community Activity Center. Commissioners kept the neighborhood retail category instead and added a stipulation allowing an indoor sports facility. In practice, Olde Mill stays a neighborhood retail center that also happens to hold courts and simulators.
The opening target is January. Mathis set that goal when approval was still pending, so treat it as a target rather than a date on the calendar.
The Player Behind It Plays at Shaw Park
Mathis told East Cobb News he plays regularly at Shaw Park and that "there's so much demand in East Cobb" for pickleball courts. Shaw Park is also where the county's own plan to meet that demand has stalled.
In February 2026, Cobb PARKS showed a redevelopment plan that would take Shaw Park from nine pickleball courts to 19. It would keep four softball fields but move them. Families with the Sandy Plains Softball organization worried about losing field time. In March, Commissioner JoAnn Birrell's office put the plan on hold to "reassess and revisit the overall amenities for the best use of both Sandy Plains Girls Softball as well as pickleball," as East Cobb News reported.
A revised draft followed in late April. It kept all five existing softball fields and left the 19-court pickleball expansion unchanged. Birrell called it a draft and told East Cobb News that "there are other things to finalize before we can get the final site plan bridging documents and go out to bid." No bid award, construction start or completion date has been announced since then. The county's Shaw Park page still lists eight pickleball courts at 900 Shaw Park Road.
Oregon Park has followed a similar pattern. In August 2025, WSB reported a proposed $850,000 project for four more courts, ADA access improvements and a restroom. The Marietta Daily Journal later reported that commissioners approved the funding. Officials were still negotiating scope and fee with a contractor, and there was no timeline. The county's Oregon Park page at 145 Old Hamilton Road still lists six courts.
| Project | Courts today | Courts planned | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pickle Pad, Olde Mill Shopping Center | 0 | 12 indoor | Approved Oct. 20, 2026; January target |
| Shaw Park, 900 Shaw Park Road | 8 on county page, about 9 per local reporting | 19 | Revised draft in spring 2026; not yet bid |
| Oregon Park, 145 Old Hamilton Road | 6 | 10 | $850,000 funded; no announced timeline |
A public expansion has to work around softball fields, funding, design documents and a bid process. A private operator with a lease mostly needs the zoning to say yes. The Pickle Pad got that answer this month.
The Old Kroger Is Getting the Same Treatment
Olde Mill is not the only empty grocery store in East Cobb being turned into a place to exercise. The former Kroger at Powers Ferry Road and Delk Road has sat vacant on 4.8 acres since Kroger moved up the street nearly three years ago. Before this plan, the site drew code enforcement complaints over trash, outdoor storage and graffiti. The Marietta City Council had approved a five-story, 322-unit apartment complex there, but the mayor vetoed it.
The property owner, Habersham Partners LLC, now plans a location of the national fitness chain EoS, with major renovations. In July 2026, the council voted 7-0 to approve variances for a smaller rear buffer and changes to parking lot landscaping. No rezoning was needed because the existing community retail commercial category already allows fitness centers, according to East Cobb News. EoS already runs metro Atlanta locations in Smyrna, Milton and Alpharetta. No opening date has been announced for Powers Ferry.
The same trend shows up in smaller spaces too. Two openings this fall put recreation into ordinary strip-center suites:
- Back Nine Golf plans a grand opening on Nov. 14 at Merchants Exchange Festival Shopping Center, 1401 Johnson Ferry Road, next to Sea of Pearls Dentistry. It has three private bays with Full Swing simulators, the same brand used on the PGA Tour, and is open 24/7. It is the second location of a company that started in Midtown Atlanta. Owner Andy Crowe told East Cobb News that membership is not required. Founding member tiers are listed at $196 and $236 a month, with 25 spots per tier.
- JETSET Pilates East Cobb held its grand opening at Market Plaza on Sunday, Oct. 25. Nicole O'Connell and Taylor Willis lead the studio and a team of 15 instructors.
Where to Play Before the New Courts Open
The Pickle Pad is aiming for January, and no date has been set for the Shaw Park expansion. Until then, these are the places to play in East Cobb and Marietta:
- Shaw Park, 900 Shaw Park Road. The county lists eight pickleball courts here, and it is the park Mathis says he plays at regularly.
- Harrison Tennis Center, 2653 Shallowford Road NE, with six designated pickleball courts. Hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Cobb's tennis centers charge a court fee, which the county's fee schedule lists at $3 per adult per hour for residents and $4.50 for non-residents.
- Fullers Park Recreation Center, 3499 Robinson Road, the indoor option for rainy or cold days. Pickleball is part of open gym, and the county posts a monthly schedule. The center is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
- Oregon Park, 145 Old Hamilton Road, with six courts while the four-court expansion waits.
- City of Marietta parks with shared courts. Lewis Park has four lighted tennis courts, two of them with pickleball lines. Merritt Park has one lighted court with pickleball lines and portable nets. At Steve & Virginia Tumlin Park at Hickory Hills, one of the two lighted tennis courts is lined for two pickleball courts with portable nets.
Over the coming months, the first new courts East Cobb is likely to see will open inside the old Walmart at Roswell and Old Canton, with Back Nine Golf's simulators on Johnson Ferry opening Nov. 14.
At Bondy Prestigious Properties, we follow how East Cobb's shopping centers and parks change, because those changes shape daily life on your street. If new venues opening near your Marietta home have you wondering what it's worth today, we're glad to walk you through it. Get Your Home Valuation.
