Spring Branch's Newest Hangout on Long Point Road Doesn't Require a Paddle

"We wanted to create more than a place to play," Andy Aweida said ahead of Long Point Social Club's opening. He and Jeff Barati, co-owners of the Kirby Group, built the two-acre property at 7202 Long Point Rd. around 12 pickleball courts and four padel courts. Courts are what get photographed. The schedule says more about the place. On a normal day, something on this lot is open from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m., and the paddle isn't required for most of it.

The club opened in August. The Houston Chronicle included it in its roundup of that month's debuts. Its cocktail lounge, The Bixby, followed in early September. With both now open, plan around the hours on the club's website. Some details from the early announcements have since changed.

Eighteen Hours, Four Front Doors

The property is really four businesses sharing one address, and each has its own hours. Here's how the club's website lists a day:

1. 8 a.m. Courts open, and so does LP Café.
2. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Weekend brunch.
3. 3 p.m. LP Bar & Kitchen starts serving.
4. 4 p.m. The Bixby opens.
5. 10 p.m. LP Café and LP Bar & Kitchen close.
6. Midnight. Courts close.
7. 2 a.m. The Bixby closes.

One detail matters if you saw the coverage from before the opening. Early reports said the bar would run from noon to midnight. The club's own site now lists LP Bar & Kitchen at 3 to 10 p.m. If you're planning a 2 p.m. drink, check the site first.

The club also promoted a daily happy hour before it opened, but the times aren't posted yet. There's an on-site dog park too, though the website doesn't list rules for it. A quick call before your first visit with the dog is a good idea.

The Morning Shift and the Kitchen

LP Café starts serving specialty coffee at 8 a.m., along with pastries, bagels, smoothies and grab-and-go food. It looks out over the courts, and it stays open until 10 p.m. That makes it the longest-running food counter on the property. The early opening and late close make it handy as a laptop stop, a spot to meet before work, or a place to wait while someone else finishes a match.

Starting at 3 p.m., the kitchen and bar serve a scratch-made menu that leans into the sport. Some of what's on it:

• Pickleballs, cream cheese and dill pickle fritters served with yogurt ranch
• Third Shot Wings, glazed with Calabrian chile and Tajín honey
• The Bixby Burger, a double smash burger
• A grilled chicken sandwich with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil
• The 7202 Steak, named for the street address. It's a sweet potato "steak" finished with miso butter and green apple gremolata.

Beer, wine and cocktails come from the same bar. Before opening, the owners said the property would host run clubs, themed gatherings and watch parties. Nine TVs and an LED video wall are spread across the grounds for game days. The club's public calendar doesn't list any dated run clubs or watch parties for October yet. For now, treat those as plans and not as fixed weekly events.

The Bixby Runs on a Different Clock

The Bixby has its own entrance and its own identity, and it keeps the latest hours on the property, from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. The sports bar next door has screens everywhere. The Bixby has no TVs, according to The Infatuation, and its bar and patio focus on cocktails. The drinks run from classics to house creations like The Bixby Cup, made with gin, kombu, lime and togarashi. The food menu has burgers, street tacos, charcuterie and Nashville hot chicken.

Having two rooms changes how the property works for anyone who doesn't play. A table at the bar can watch the game. A table at The Bixby can have a conversation. Both are open at 9 p.m. on a weeknight, and only one of them is still serving after 10. The listed address is 7202 Long Point Rd., Suite A, and the phone number is (346) 240-2606.

The Kirby Group's other places give a sense of the template. The Infatuation identifies the group as the one behind Heights Bier Garten and Pitch 25. DiningOut also lists Bayou Heights Biergarten among the group's concepts and says food and drink are a big part of the formula at each of them.

Playing Without Joining

If you do want to play, a membership isn't required. Before opening, the club said it would offer public court reservations alongside four membership tiers. On CourtReserve, the club's booking platform, the non-member option is a free account that can reserve up to seven days ahead. The booking page requires a login before it shows prices, so we haven't confirmed what a non-member pays for a court.

The cheapest way in for a casual player is open play. The club's public event list shows several open-play sessions this month at $5. Dated examples include:

• Saturday, Oct. 3; Sunday, Oct. 4; Monday, Oct. 5. $5 open play
• Thursday, Oct. 8. 65+ open play

The October calendar also lists pickleball and padel open plays, clinics, and a Beginner Co-Ed Social League. Across the season, players can choose from leagues, clinics, private lessons, open play and tournaments, in formats like King of the Court, round robins and padel Americano.

For anyone who ends up there several times a week, here are the membership tiers as CourtReserve lists them:

Use the platform to compare what each tier covers, since the price alone doesn't show which perks you get. Eight of the 12 pickleball courts are covered. That helps on a hot afternoon or a drizzly weekend.

The Rest of Long Point This Fall

The club opened during a busy year for small restaurant news on this side of Spring Branch. Two other updates are worth knowing about, each with a caveat.

Xeo Yum, at 10049 Long Point, opened in June. It serves Vietnamese bánh xèo along with pho, tamarind wings and vermicelli. The Houston Chronicle named Cuong Nguyen as the returning cook behind it. When we checked recently, its online ordering page showed the restaurant as closed, with menu items unavailable. Call before you drive over.

Tacos Doña Lena is moving from Hammerly Boulevard to 2030 Bingle Road, one block away. The new space will add a full bar to its Mexican antojitos. DiningOut reported on Sept. 28 that the new location was expected to open "in the coming weeks" and that the Hammerly location would stay open until the move. The restaurant's website still lists 8788 Hammerly Boulevard. Until the move is announced as done, plan on Hammerly.

If you'd like a morning routine that doesn't involve a court reservation, the Spring Branch Management District's October calendar lists #WALK30 meetups on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 8 a.m. and Saturday, Oct. 10 at 9 a.m. The Wednesday walk starts at the same hour LP Café starts pouring coffee.

At Corcoran Prestige, we keep track of what opens along Long Point Road because it's part of daily life for our Spring Branch clients. If you'd like to know how new places like Long Point Social Club are changing your part of the neighborhood, we're glad to talk it through. Contact Us.