Heres some good news for a change. Nice to see a room like this opening up in my area.
Mark Shanks, owner of The Garage, talks about his new business which will be a bar/grill and an upscale billiards hall located at 2301 S. Western Ave., Marion. Bar-and-grill will also be included
By Brett Wallacebwallace@chronicle-tribune.com
Published: Monday, March 29, 2010 1:08 AM EDT
Local businessman Mark Shanks plans to open an upscale billiards room that includes a small-scale sports bar and grill.
To be called Garage Billiards, Shanks’ new venture is under construction at 2301 S. Western Ave. and on schedule to open in May.
An entrepreneur with his advertising business, Creative Fuel Design, Shanks said his draw to this opportunity was because of his love of the game.
“I’m an avid pool player,” he said. “I wanted to create a nice place to people to come out and have a good time. Marion needs something like this.”
The business will feature a garage motif that reminiscant of the 1950s and 1960s, Shanks said. The billiards equipment will be high-quality Diamond pool tables, which Shanks said are the Rolls Royces of the billiards industry.
Shanks said the crux of any successful billiards business is leagues and tournaments, and he thinks the 13 tables and high-end equipment will successfully draw pool players from across the region.
“We’ve got quite a lot of amateur league play around here,” he said.
But in order to prosper, Shanks said he must also rely on his bar-and-grill business, which is being built in a partitioned back area of the business. While the billiards area will be all ages, this section of the business will be 21 and older, he said.
The business should create between 10 and 12 jobs, he said. He’s already hired Brad Shanks, former manager of Blu 49 in Gas City and no relation to Mark, to be manager at the facility.
Brad Shanks said this business is something that will be unique to Marion.
“(Mark Shanks) has a great idea,” Brad Shanks said. “I really like the concept. It’s going to be something like Marion hasn’t seen before. Once people get in and see what we have to offer … they’ll be glad.”
Mark Shanks said this business will serve a need in the Marion area.
“We’ll really play up the multi-use aspect of the facility,” Shanks said. “You can’t just make it on pool. It’s all about having (customers) do these other things.
“It’s a pool room with a sports bar in it,” he said. “It’s not a bar with a couple of pool tables.”
Mark Shanks, owner of The Garage, talks about his new business which will be a bar/grill and an upscale billiards hall located at 2301 S. Western Ave., Marion. Bar-and-grill will also be included
By Brett Wallacebwallace@chronicle-tribune.com
Published: Monday, March 29, 2010 1:08 AM EDT
Local businessman Mark Shanks plans to open an upscale billiards room that includes a small-scale sports bar and grill.
To be called Garage Billiards, Shanks’ new venture is under construction at 2301 S. Western Ave. and on schedule to open in May.
An entrepreneur with his advertising business, Creative Fuel Design, Shanks said his draw to this opportunity was because of his love of the game.
“I’m an avid pool player,” he said. “I wanted to create a nice place to people to come out and have a good time. Marion needs something like this.”
The business will feature a garage motif that reminiscant of the 1950s and 1960s, Shanks said. The billiards equipment will be high-quality Diamond pool tables, which Shanks said are the Rolls Royces of the billiards industry.
Shanks said the crux of any successful billiards business is leagues and tournaments, and he thinks the 13 tables and high-end equipment will successfully draw pool players from across the region.
“We’ve got quite a lot of amateur league play around here,” he said.
But in order to prosper, Shanks said he must also rely on his bar-and-grill business, which is being built in a partitioned back area of the business. While the billiards area will be all ages, this section of the business will be 21 and older, he said.
The business should create between 10 and 12 jobs, he said. He’s already hired Brad Shanks, former manager of Blu 49 in Gas City and no relation to Mark, to be manager at the facility.
Brad Shanks said this business is something that will be unique to Marion.
“(Mark Shanks) has a great idea,” Brad Shanks said. “I really like the concept. It’s going to be something like Marion hasn’t seen before. Once people get in and see what we have to offer … they’ll be glad.”
Mark Shanks said this business will serve a need in the Marion area.
“We’ll really play up the multi-use aspect of the facility,” Shanks said. “You can’t just make it on pool. It’s all about having (customers) do these other things.
“It’s a pool room with a sports bar in it,” he said. “It’s not a bar with a couple of pool tables.”
