SPiN

Corporate brand

SPiN is an international chain of franchised table-tennis clubs combining ping-pong venues with full-service bars, restaurants, and social events.

Last updated August 24, 2026

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Overview

SPiN is a hospitality and entertainment brand built around table tennis. Rather than operating as a conventional sports club, the brand combines ping-pong tables with full-service bars, restaurants, memberships, reservations, and event programming. Its venues are designed for recreational play, social gatherings, corporate functions, and nightlife, positioning table tennis as an accessible group activity rather than solely as a competitive sport. The company was founded in 2009 by Jonathan Bricklin, Andrew Gordon, Franck Raharinosy, and Wally Green. Its concept grew out of table-tennis parties known as “Naked Ping Pong,” associated with several of the founders and Kazuyuki Yokoyama. The idea was to create a dedicated urban venue where customers could play table tennis while eating, drinking, and socializing. The first SPiN location opened in New York City’s Flatiron District on Park Avenue, establishing the format in a prominent metropolitan nightlife and hospitality setting. SPiN expanded through franchising and venue openings in North America and the Middle East. The first location outside New York opened in Milwaukee in 2010, although that venue later ceased to be affiliated with the SPiN brand. A Toronto location opened in 2011, followed by a Dubai venue in 2013. The Dubai site included a gold-plated ping-pong table and was a high-profile expression of the brand’s event-oriented positioning, but it later closed in the context of the local market’s more conservative norms regarding alcohol consumption. The brand subsequently developed or announced locations in several major American and Canadian cities, including Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Boston. The Austin venue later closed, making way for a Boston Seaport location. At the time described in the available reference material, SPiN had seven current or planned locations in the United States and Canada. SPiN venues typically allow guests to reserve tables, including a prominent “center court” table at many locations, and charge by the hour or through memberships. This operating model gives the brand several revenue and engagement occasions: casual walk-in hospitality, scheduled table play, recurring memberships, private events, and branded or celebrity-led opening programs. Location launches have featured celebrity appearances and professional table-tennis players, reinforcing the brand’s blend of sport, entertainment, and social spectacle. Community access is also part of the concept’s public-facing identity. SPiN has partnered with the Glide Foundation to help provide table-tennis access to young people who might otherwise lack the opportunity to participate. Overall, SPiN’s differentiation lies in packaging an inexpensive and widely recognizable sport as an urban leisure experience, with the restaurant and bar functioning as integral parts of the venue rather than as secondary amenities.

History

SPiN was founded in 2009 by Jonathan Bricklin, Andrew Gordon, Franck Raharinosy, and Wally Green as an international table-tennis-club and bar concept. Its origins were connected to social table-tennis parties known as “Naked Ping Pong,” which were held by several founders together with Kazuyuki Yokoyama. The founders developed the idea of making table tennis the central attraction of a hospitality venue, with food, beverages, music, events, and social interaction built around the game. The first SPiN location opened in New York City’s Flatiron District on Park Avenue. The Manhattan venue established the brand’s signature format: customers could reserve tables, play recreational ping pong for an hourly fee or through memberships, and use a full-service bar and restaurant during their visit. Many venues also included a prominent center-court table, creating a focal point for social play, demonstrations, and events. SPiN began franchised expansion in 2010 with a Milwaukee location, the first outside New York. That venue subsequently ceased to be affiliated with the SPiN brand. Expansion continued into Canada in 2011 with a Toronto location. In 2013, the company opened a Dubai venue that included a gold-plated ping-pong table. The Dubai project demonstrated SPiN’s preference for high-visibility, spectacle-oriented venue design, but the location later closed as the local environment presented challenges for a concept incorporating alcohol and nightlife. The company continued to pursue a North American footprint, with locations opened or planned in cities including Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Austin later closed, and the brand instead opened a location in Boston’s Seaport district. Reference material available for 2017 described seven current or planned SPiN locations in the United States and Canada. Marketing and programming have been important to SPiN’s identity. Venue openings have included celebrity appearances and professional table-tennis players, helping the company present its locations as entertainment destinations rather than ordinary recreational facilities. The operating model also supports private parties, corporate gatherings, memberships, and recurring social play. In this format, table tennis serves both as the core activity and as a mechanism for encouraging longer hospitality visits. SPiN has additionally worked with the Glide Foundation to help make table tennis available to young people who might otherwise have limited access to the sport. This partnership gives the brand a community-oriented dimension alongside its commercial nightlife and hospitality model. The available sources do not establish the company’s current ownership, executive roster, complete location portfolio, or present financial performance. Its documented historical identity is that of a franchised, internationally oriented table-tennis entertainment chain.

2017
North American network reaches seven current or planned locations
[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
Available reference material described seven current or planned SPiN locations in the United States and Canada.
2013
Dubai venue opens
[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
The company opened a Dubai location featuring a gold-plated ping-pong table; the venue later closed.
2011
Toronto expansion
[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
SPiN opened a location in Toronto, extending the brand into Canada.
2010
First franchise outside New York
[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
A Milwaukee location became the first SPiN franchise outside New York, although it later left the SPiN system.
2009
First SPiN venue opens in New York
[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
SPiN opened its first table-tennis club and bar in New York City’s Flatiron District on Park Avenue.

Products and positioning

An urban social-entertainment and hospitality brand that turns table tennis into a premium group leisure experience.

Hospitality and sports entertainment · 2009
Table-tennis club venues
SPiN venues are social clubs centered on recreational table tennis. They combine multiple ping-pong tables with hospitality areas, allowing guests to play while dining, drinking, attending events, or meeting friends. The venues are designed for casual participants as well as customers seeking organized or competitive play.
Recreational sports service · 2009
Table reservations and hourly play
Customers can reserve tables, including a center-court table at many locations, and play for an hourly charge. This reservation-based model makes the tables suitable for informal visits, group outings, parties, and scheduled events.
Customer loyalty and access program
Memberships
SPiN has offered memberships as an alternative to one-off hourly play. Memberships are intended to encourage repeat visits and provide a recurring relationship between customers and the club venues, although the available sources do not specify current plans or benefits.
Food and beverage hospitality · 2009
Bar and restaurant service
Full-service bars and restaurants are integral to the SPiN format. Food and beverage service supports longer visits and helps position the venues as nightlife and social destinations rather than as standalone sports facilities.

Marketing campaigns

Celebrity and professional player venue openings
United States · Canada · United Arab Emirates
SPiN has used celebrity appearances and professional table-tennis players at location openings to generate attention and frame new venues as entertainment destinations.
Outcome. The available source confirms the practice but does not provide campaign-level performance measures.
Source
Glide Foundation table-tennis access partnership
United States
SPiN partnered with the Glide Foundation to help provide young people with access to table tennis when they might otherwise be unable to participate.
Outcome. The source describes the partnership’s access objective but does not report quantified results.
Source

Brand decisions

2013
International expansion into DubaiStrategy
Background
SPiN pursued an international hospitality footprint by opening a Dubai venue after establishing locations in the United States and Canada.
Action taken
The company launched a Dubai club featuring a gold-plated ping-pong table as a distinctive attraction.
Aftermath
The location later closed, with the reference material attributing the closure to challenges associated with Dubai’s more conservative drinking norms.
Source
Shift in Austin and Boston location strategyStrategy
Background
SPiN developed or planned venues in several North American cities as it expanded its franchised club model.
Action taken
The Austin location was closed and made way for a venue in Boston’s Seaport district.
Aftermath
The available source records the location change but does not explain its commercial rationale or provide performance data.
Source

Recent events

2017
SPiN develops additional North American locations[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
Other
Reference material described seven current or planned SPiN locations in the United States and Canada, including venues or plans involving Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Austin, and Boston.
2013
SPiN launches a Dubai location[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
Other
SPiN opened a Dubai venue featuring a gold-plated ping-pong table. The location later closed amid challenges associated with Dubai’s more conservative drinking environment.
2011
SPiN opens in Toronto[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
Other
A Toronto venue extended the franchised table-tennis-club concept into Canada.
2010
SPiN expands beyond New York with a Milwaukee franchise[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
Other
The first SPiN franchise outside New York opened in Milwaukee. The location later stopped operating under the SPiN brand.
2009
SPiN opens its first location in New York City[1]SPiNen.wikipedia.org
Other
The first SPiN venue opened in New York City’s Flatiron District on Park Avenue, establishing the brand’s combination of table tennis, food, beverages, and nightlife.

Sources7 sources

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