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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Max Rykov and Saigon Noodle House General Manager Brendon Kotulak play a game of pingpong.
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Photo courtesy of Wes Van Horn.
Above: The April pingpong tournament at “Gump Memorial Stadium,” the name organizers have given to their patio pingpong tables at Saigon Noodle.
Table tennis may not reach large audiences at the Olympics, but it’s a crowd pleaser at Saigon Noodle House in Avondale.
The 1-year-old restaurant began hosting pingpong tournaments in late 2016 and resurrected them in April. It’s part business promotion, part lighthearted fun.
“Win or lose, everyone is having a good time. You can’t not smile when you’re hitting the pingpong ball back and forth,” said front of house manager Bobby Bissonnette.
“Even the losers had huge smiles on their faces,” said marketing and social media manager Wes Van Horn.
The Saigon Noodle staff teamed up with friend Max Rykov to host tournaments on the restaurant patio at two pingpong tables they have named “Gump Memorial Stadium” after the movie character Forrest Gump’s table tennis prowess.
“Him being from Alabama, it only seemed appropriate — and a pingpong phenom,” Van Horn said.
They chose pingpong because they wanted to find something different from the classic cornhole game and also because it’s accessible to all skill levels. “Pingpong — it’s an Olympic sport, but anyone can play. If you can like swat a fly away, it’s really the same motion,” Rykov said.
And in April, about 100 people showed up to play, representing everyone from tennis pros with their own paddles to first-timers.
“The range of skills is pretty incredible to see,” Rykov said. “You have one guy holding a beer in one hand and playing with a paddle in the other hand, and then you have some people who are real serious.”
It’s more than just a battle with paddles, though. Saigon Noodle provided music, beer specials and free appetizers to the tournament competitors, as well as a giant spring roll eating contest. Van Horn said two men took on the six-pound spring rolls that came out of the Saigon Noodle kitchen and came close to finishing them, but fell just short of glory.
General Manager and restaurant partner Brendon Kotulak said he enjoyed seeing the restaurant packed with people and bikes lined up outside the patio from customers who rode from Lakeview and Avondale.
“The amount of people that stayed after the tournament was over was great just because they were having so much fun,” Kotulak said. “We weren’t expecting such a huge, huge turnout.”
“It was kind of just like a block party out here, which was awesome to see,” Van Horn said.
Rykov jokingly described the tournaments as a “spiritual enterprise,” but added the atmosphere is as much about camaraderie as it is about competition. And at least at Saigon Noodle, pingpong is definitely a spectator sport — as Rykov would know from his multiple tournament appearances.
“I’m pretty decent,” Rykov said. “I’d say like seven out of 10. I can consistently make it to the semifinals.”
He was also the originator of what is now a tournament tradition all four men agreed is their favorite part. At the first tournament, Rykov called for a volunteer to sing the national anthem and refused to start the games until someone stepped up. Eventually someone did, and the entire crowd sang the anthem together. Now, it doesn’t feel right if the tournament starts without it.
Van Horn said they want the tournaments to be a monthly event at least while the weather is good for playing on the patio, perhaps twice a month. The Saturday tournament is divided into 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. segments with a $5 entry fee. They’re also considering adding different elements such as live music, karaoke and cornhole.
Eventually, Van Horn said they might host a pingpong league at Saigon Noodle with regular practices and competitions. However, the patio tables aren’t only reserved for Birmingham’s elite table tennis athletes.
“They’re always open. It’s not just a Saturday thing. We always have them set up and ready to go so if people just want to come play, they’re always open, and the patio’s open as long as the weather permits,” Van Horn said.
Find Saigon Noodle House Avondale on Facebook or at thesaigonnoodlehouse.com for more information on upcoming tournaments.
