Craig Millsap, a 1990 Rainier High School graduate, fell into co-ownership of 23 Kitchens in Lacey by accident, both literally and figuratively.
He was snowmobiling with friends near Mount Rainier in 2020 when he cut open his shin in an accident, and he required stitches. After numerous calls to walk-in clinics, Millsap couldn’t find anyone to stitch him up, until he called a mutual friend with a dental office in Lacey.
The friend — Joshua Carpenter — stitched his wound for no charge, and the two hit it off. They eventually snowmobiled together twice a week, and on a random drive, Carpenter asked Millsap if he had ever heard of pickleball.
By that point, Millsap was already in love with the sport. Carpenter told him about a place in Wichita, Kansas, called Chicken N Pickle that offered recreational sports and food, and he pitched a wild idea.
“Out of the blue, he’s like, ‘What would you say we brought this to Marvin Road [in Lacey]?’ Three years later, we ended up with building permits,” Millsap said.