Question About A New Poolroom?

lady9ball said:
Exactly what I was going to say... except that I would add that you need to keep the balls clean. Everywhere I go anymore has dirty balls. :frown: I don't even care if the restrooms are clean, as long as the table and balls are!
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I clean the balls on my home table at least once a day, most days twice. As far as restrooms go, I don't feel it's beneath me to keep a bathroom clean. Of coarse if I found someone to do it for a little table time that would be OK too:D. Thank you all for the great input w/o bashing my beloved Bar Boxes. Johnnyt
 
Yep, I'd show up and keep coming back if prices & table conditions were good and the service/staff decent. I agree with keeping the option open to add a couple big tables.

...when's the ribbon cutting? LOL
 
Richardson said:
most likely no. While i dont drink, i like having access to 9ft's. + i dont think you could make enough money to stay afloat.
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From my investigation and estimates it can be done but the owner has to work there and he will not get rich. But for the majority of people in the US the ability to work for themselves and at least make what they are making now is an attractive proposition.

Myself and Muttley (on az) both worked at and ran a small room with no beer. While the owner never got rich it was a decent amount that supplemented her very well.

Here in my area I am struggling to find owners that care. Maybe they have been in the business to long but they are scrimping on operational costs and that leads to losses in revenue. Its a big mistake small biz owners make.
Right now more than ever the customer needs to know that there business is appreciated.

Lease prices here are what holds rooms back. Smaller rooms can often make more money per square foot. Large rooms have a bigger gross potential but you have to pay for that space 24/7.

Being I am looking into opening a small room I am hoping that I am right or at least partly right. I know all my thoughts wont turn out to be true.
 
nope, not unless there was a small entry fee tournement stacked with bar players i could easily roll over.

i think if you want to try and open a place with not many tables, your focus should be more on food and alcohol.

theres a place here by me, doesnt seem to get a great rep from the hard core players, but i love it over the others and is always packed. they have twelve 8's, they refelt em about every 6 months or so, but i like it because their menu reads like applebees or fridays. they've done so well that they where able to open 2 more other locations.
http://www.mazzys.com/

i hate places that dont have anything but wings, burgers and chicken fingers. i get tired of the same old fried bar food and fatty burgers.
 
Depends on the rates - where I am you get 3hrs for $7.00 9 ft tables (all the coffee you want)- don't care for booze while I play - another rm is $10 from approx 12 noon to 5 pm or 6pm off and on if you like - but you might make a go of it a lot depends on the location. Sometimes a place just catches on .
 
it could work

No, I wouldn't come unless my whole goal of the night was to get drunk and be silly. I don't see any other point of a few 7 foot tables with a bar.

BUT. That doesn't mean you aren't going to be successful- just that I'm not your market.

A place called R-15 is doing really well with your idea here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-r15-sacramento

They are a great hangout and party spot on the weekends. Big posh bar, some small tables you can rent by the game OR the hour (there's a pricing list somewhere). Tables suck, if you care about pool. They also have awesome food.

Last idea they have there is my favorite: they have 2 or 3 little rooms big enough for just a couch, 2 side chairs, and a coffee table. Nothing else. On the wall is a big flatscreen tv connected to video game consoles. You can sit in there and play playstation 3 games- online or off. There are plenty of games (you get 3 at a time from the bar), four controllers so you can play offline with your friends. ALL video games, time in the room, all this is free- but here's the catch: the waitresses KEEP coming by offering to bring you drinks, pitchers, showing you various drink menus, showing you food menus... You get to play the games for free but you can't help spending your money on flowing beer, mixed drinks, and (now you're hungry) hot pizza and buffalo wings brought to your private sofa and coffee table.
 
Johnnyt said:
If I was to open a poolroom in you’re town with just 8 Diamond or Valley 7’ tables, beer & wine, and some type of snacks (finger food?), would you play in it? I’m trying to figure out if there is a demand for a room of this type. Thank you in advance for answering yes or no. Please, no bar box bashing. Tables would rent by the hour. Johnnyt
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Those type of places are very popular in parts of NC. They usually have great weekly tournaments too.
 
We are also non-drinkers, so you'd have to drop the beer and wine and allow us to bring the grandkids, if we want to teach them. (We are also non-smokers and I'm allergic to second hand smoke.)

We prefer the quarter tables, so as long as you have some of those and a good price (75 cents per game), you'd have our interest.

Good food is always a plus, even finger foods.

Good luck if you decide to do something like this. From what I hear, it's a financial challenge to keep one open.
 
Johnnyt said:
If I was to open a poolroom in you’re town with just 8 Diamond or Valley 7’ tables, beer & wine, and some type of snacks (finger food?), would you play in it? I’m trying to figure out if there is a demand for a room of this type. Thank you in advance for answering yes or no. Please, no bar box bashing. Tables would rent by the hour. Johnnyt
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It might work as an APA place? If the food is passable, folks would come over right after work to eat and practice beforehand.

Hmm, APA and barboxes in the same thread. Very dangerous AZ territory. :D
 
Sorry. You did ask for a yes or no and I didn't give you one, the first time.

If I had to dedicate to one or the other, I guess I'd have to say no. It might be a place I'd go once in a while, but we like more of a family atmosphere to spend our evenings.

We love the bar boxes best, but most places we see survive best have some of both, which calls to both crowds. Keeping the equipment in good repair is very important, as well as cleanliness. Tournaments would help, too.

You're definitely on the right track, I'd say. If you decide to do something like this, good luck. Be sure to let us all know when (and where) you open.
 
If it's the only game in town and the alternative is driving a while, I guess. But if I can play on full size tables instead I will. Bar-box mastery is great and I won't bash it, but it's still a "niche". It's like asking if people would go to a wine bar or just a regular bar... most guys will want a regular bar.
 
This is the trend in new rooms today. Requires far less space with a lower overhead. Mostly bar tables devoted to league play every night. If you get ALL the leagues playing there, you have a winner! The bar will be rocking every night. I would recommend having four big tables for more serious players.

You could have the four 9' tables on time and the eight 7' tables on dollar chutes. If they are being used for league play, that is the best way to control them. Now you have a twelve table room, with beer and wine and fast food, in maybe less than 4,000 square feet. You could make it in a room like this.

Add a few video games (racing, shooting and table top), an ATM, multiple TV's (a few big screens) and you might just have a winner. Throw in a couple of sexy girls behind the counter and the guys will come running. :wink:
 
yeah JT

i would Johny
I responded without reading the whole thread ( please forgive me ).Diamonds in my town,hell yeah!!! a few ( 9ers would be cool too)
 
jay helfert said:
This is the trend in new rooms today. Requires far less space with a lower overhead. Mostly bar tables devoted to league play every night. If you get ALL the leagues playing there, you have a winner! The bar will be rocking every night. I would recommend having four big tables for more serious players.

You could have the four 9' tables on time and the eight 7' tables on dollar chutes. If they are being used for league play, that is the best way to control them. Now you have a twelve table room, with beer and wine and fast food, in maybe less than 4,000 square feet. You could make it in a room like this.

Add a few video games (racing, shooting and table top), an ATM, multiple TV's (a few big screens) and you might just have a winner. Throw in a couple of sexy girls behind the counter and the guys will come running. :wink:
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Jay I don't want to work hard or make a living at it. I just need to get out of the house by next year. The wife will be retiring then and we would kill each other spending that much time together. Also there are not many bar box tournys around my area, and I'd like to fix that:wink:. Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt said:
Jay I don't want to work hard or make a living at it. I just need to get out of the house by next year. The wife will be retiring then and we would kill each other spending that much time together. Also there are not many bar box tournys around my area, and I'd like to fix that:wink:. Johnnyt
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This might be one of those rare cases where golf could be cheaper than pool.
 
"T" said:
This might be one of those rare cases where golf could be cheaper than pool.
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LOL, I know what you mean. But if worse comes to worse I'll get a little four table room with cheap rent and open 12p to 12 a X 6 days...maybe seven. I'm going to play in a bar box tounament before I die and I'm not going West to do it...I'll play in my own. Before anyone reminds me that I don't like the idea of pros playing in their own tournaments, I'm not a pro, or close to a pro. Johnnyt
 
For me the answer is definitely not. While I'm by no means the best pool player in the world, I do consider myself a purist.

This may not be the case for the masses. As someone mentioned earlier, this forum is frequented with lots of folks who enjoy full size tables.

I used to own a pool room with 18 GCs and a full bar, and while I know full well that league nights were an important percentage of profit, it was always a bittersweet experience to watch league play from the captain's chair behind the counter.

Bangers, complainers, drunks, and of course just the plain old social bugs who didn't much care if the game they were playing was pool or parcheesi so long as they had an excuse to have a night out drinking and socializing.

None of those things are one bit appealing to me as a pool player. JMO of course.
 
Johnnyt said:
If I was to open a poolroom in you’re town with just 8 Diamond or Valley 7’ tables, beer & wine, and some type of snacks (finger food?), would you play in it? I’m trying to figure out if there is a demand for a room of this type. Thank you in advance for answering yes or no. Please, no bar box bashing. Tables would rent by the hour. Johnnyt
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Not in preference to a room with 9 footers. If it the competition was thin and you had some leagues or tournaments, yes.

If I every win the lottery so I don't need to make a profit I'd open a place like it with 9 footers or a mix of 9 & 7 footers. I especially like the idea of only beer and wine, problems start when hard liqueur comes in to play. Maybe throw in some simple microwave food. Hot dogs, hamburgers, just something to fill that empty spot in a person's stomach. And of course free coffee.
 
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