The St. Petersburg Shoppes development in Martinez is poised to be a hot spot along the Furys Ferry thoroughfare, having had two anticipated businesses open with fanfare this week.
The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce held two ribbon cuttings: one for Furys Ferry Hardware on Wednesday, and another for its next door neighbor Dink’d Pickleball. The former is a project of Charles Cates, son of Doug Cates who owns the St. Petersburg shopping center property along with T.R. Reddy.
In fall of last year Cates began renovating the more than 20,000 square foot space that once housed a Bi-Lo supermarket and later the Final Cut warehouse.
Saturday, the new hardware retailer hosted another grand opening event, complete with food vendors and giveaways.
Columbia County Board of Commissioner Chairman Doug Duncan, Commissioner Connie Melear and Columbia County D.A. Bobby Christine were among those who helped welcome the Dink’d, the CSRA’s first indoor pickleball court, to Columbia County on Friday morning.
Dink’d—which is short for “dink,” a kind of move in pickleball, “drink” and “dine”—is a concept by former local Crumb’l Cookie franchisees Troy and Nancy Akers. The couples’ passion for the increasingly popular sport led them to partner with Jason and Becky Kridner to open an indoor facility, more than 24,000 square feet, with nine professional courts, a pro shop and dining areas. Dink’d already sports a signature dish: the Dink’d Smash Burger.
Seth Prior, a graphic design major at Augusta University, conceived the facility’s murals, sometimes pulling all-nighters painting them. One night, while painting, he even managed to fix a valve that had started leaking, preventing the courts from being flooded.
“I really like playing pickleball, and I knew this place was coming, and I knew it would be a really fun place to be,” said Prior, who lives close to the site. He had already painted a mural at Escape Outdoors when he reached out to the Akers about decorating the facility. Becky Kridner responded and directed him to her husband Jason, with whom Prior developed ideas for designs.
Dink’d is already gearing up for tournaments at the sports club, with its first, called Zero Zero Boom, slated for October, Troy Akers said.
Both Dink’d Pickleball and Furys Ferry Hardware are located at 500 Furys Ferry Road.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
