Stay & Play

SPRAY FOAM MAGAZINE – Stephanie and Dave Mayer are on a mission to revitalize their small Missouri town. How? By launching what they believe is a first of its kind: a sip, shop, and serve concept involving pickleball. This game’s popularity has soared, with The Association of Pickleball Professionals’ (APP) March 2023 research revealing 48.3 million adult Americans have played pickleball at least once in the past 12 months. With this knowledge, and a great idea taking shape, Stephanie and Dave contacted EDI insulation and construction contracting LLC, in Farmington, Missouri as they knew that when they served up this idea to their local community, spray foam would come into the play.

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines features of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong using a paddle and plastic ball with holes. The rules for pickleball are simple, which make it a great introductory sport for all ages. From recreational play in schools, clubs, and driveways, to players performing at a professional level, the growth of this sport has brought a remarkable influx of players nationwide. New pickleball facilities are breaking ground, courts are being built, and local communities are gathering to take part in the sport for the first time at a staggering rate.

The Mayer’s are no strangers to spray foam insulation and were even featured in Spray Foam Magazine’s Late Summer 2021 Issue where they discussed converting shipping containers into cozy rental accommodation for guests wanting to adopt a donkey. The Mayer’s donkey rescue, also situated in the Midwest, is the satellite location for the largest equine/donkey rescue in the world. This innovative couple was also featured on the television show, Building Off the Grid. The Spray Foam Magazine Team (SFMT) were excited to catch up with them to find out all about their new pickleball café and ask them how, and why, they incorporated SPF into the mix.

With their fingers always on the pulse, the Mayer’s recently launched a pickleball café named Pickle & Perk, situated in the small mountain town of Arcadia Valley, Missouri. The unique, mixed design offers a café setting for patrons to eat, shop, and play pickleball. On the upper level there is a stay and play Airbnb, where visitors and tourists can stay while they play. 

“Dave and I talked with people at local town events and asked them what they thought of our town and what they wanted to see. A common response was our town was lacking in things to do and places to eat. So, we put those ideas and thoughts together and Pickle & Perk, the pickleball café was born,” confirms Stephanie. The couple both play pickleball with Dave being especially drawn to the sport as he’s a former state champion tennis player.

EDI Insulation and Construction Contracting LLC has been an Insulation company in southeast Missouri since 2017. Owner Brandon Smith is a fully certified professional ready to tackle anything from complex and large-scale insulation and construction projects to smaller jobs. The pickleball café building is 50 years old and was originally an auto mechanic shop. The project consisted of renovations and additions, with vaulted ceilings and combining old and new construction with multiple separate environmentally controlled spaces. Additionally, there is a living room loft that challenged the crew because they had to work in a tight space.

The foam helped achieve an even and comfortable temperature throughout the space. The total square footage of the building was 4,200 sq. ft. and the foam was applied in the ceilings and exterior walls. In the attic, sections were sprayed and then put in place to block the old, ventilated attic and soffit. EDI had five crews working on the job, with the lead sprayer being Ben Crawford. The entire spray foam job took them a total of three days to complete. They installed five inches of NCFI InsulStar Light open-cell foam in all of the 2x6 cavities and one to one and a half inches of NCFI InsulBloc SmartSPF closed-cell foam against the block wall and 2x4 cavities.

The Mayer’s were very happy with the completed spray foam application with Stephanie serving up praises for SPF saying, “With numerous spray foam installations, we have found the product to provide a very consistent temperature throughout. Because this project has both existing and new spaces it was important to ensure all areas were efficient and provided a comfortable space for guests and customers. Since spray foam insulation is really a game changer for residential and commercial applications. Not only does it provide comfort for our guests and customers, but also adds value to a building or investment. If only they could make our to-go cups as well insulated as our café.”

The Pickle & Perk café, and the stay and play Airbnb opened in November. There is currently one court, but the Mayer’s long-term goal is to develop additional courts and host tournaments to drive tourism. From using spray foam in their continuing endeavor to help rescue donkeys, to this splendid pickleball project, this pioneering couple really do make a positive difference to their community. Having the foam applied to yet another one of their groundbreaking projects, they have served a winning hit, proving once again that having professionals install SPF will never leave a client in a pickle.  

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