An exciting new gaming space is piquing the interest of Ping Pong players across the city.
PingPod is a new business that is looking to bring table tennis to every neighborhood in New York. The company was founded in 2020 by entrepreneurs David Silberman, Ernesto Ebuen, and Max Kogler, who noticed an imbalance in the market’s supply and demand and set out to correct it. Offering communities safe spaces to enjoy the classic game of Ping Pong, PingPod’s mission is to activate neighborhoods by using technology and an easy, seamless, and affordable customer experience, elevating what PingPod considers to be an historically overlooked sport.
To date, Silberman and his team have opened up five locations so far. Unlike competitor businesses like SPIN, PingPod establishes a more scaled-down and autonomous concept. Guests are invited to reserve a “pod” for a single flat fee (regardless of how many people are playing), and can then use their phones to unlock their pods without any interactions with PingPod employees. This business model enables David and the team to scale rapidly, establishing multiple locations in neighborhoods that would otherwise be deprived of similar concepts. The hope is to turn PingPod into a New York institution, giving everyone in the city a local place to play their favorite sport.
Now, for the first time since launching in 2020, PingPod is getting ready to debut its first-ever Brooklyn location. The borough’s new Ping Pod will be established at 620 Fulton Street, between Ashland Place and St Felix Street. The Fulton Street PingPod will offer three open tables and one private pod for special events, as well as the requisite paddles and balls. Guests will also have access to video replays of their best plays, and beverages and light snacks will be available for purchase. Additionally, according to PingPod’s website, two more yet-to-be disclosed locations will be opening up on the Upper West Side and on East 95th Street later this year. Another location is set to arrive in Fort Lee, NJ, and What Now Miami readers will also be excited to learn that the company has future plans for Miami as well.
According to Silberman, PingPod caters to beginners and casual table tennis players who want to play with their friends on weekends. When speaking with New York Business Journal, Silberman stated that the company’s relationship with the table tennis community is “like an onion,” explaining that “People join the community and become just as enthralled as we are and they’re able to go out and tell their friends about it.” For more information, you can follow PingPod on Instagram.
