Hard Times Bellflower On the Scene

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jjohnson

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Hard Times Bellflower On the Scene

I call every day and hang up after ten rings with no answer.
I went by about a month ago and the red awning is gone. No great loss since it was in tatters anyway.
The entire front entrance facing the parking lot is whitewashed.
All the windows and doors are blackened. Locked up tighter than a drum.
But through the crack between the front doors you can look in. The jukebox is in there all lit up.
You can make out a couple of tables near the jukebox. They have a thick layer of dust (L.A. smog buildup) on them.
The place has the feel of a ghost town.
I took a few pics but cannot figure out how to get them off my phone.
If anyone wants them and maybe post them on this new thread I can text them to you.

These are the hardest times for Hard Times Bellflower.
 
jjohnson said:
Hard Times Bellflower On the Scene

I call every day and hang up after ten rings with no answer.
I went by about a month ago and the red awning is gone. No great loss since it was in tatters anyway.
The entire front entrance facing the parking lot is whitewashed.
All the windows and doors are blackened. Locked up tighter than a drum.
But through the crack between the front doors you can look in. The jukebox is in there all lit up.
You can make out a couple of tables near the jukebox. They have a thick layer of dust (L.A. smog buildup) on them.
The place has the feel of a ghost town.
I took a few pics but cannot figure out how to get them off my phone.
If anyone wants them and maybe post them on this new thread I can text them to you.

These are the hardest times for Hard Times Bellflower.
Click to expand...
It already closed for good a couple of months ago.

Scott Lee
 
In all honesty, good riddance. It's sad to see a pool hall close but Hard Times was a mere shadow of itself for the past 10-15 years. The equipment was not taken care of as it had been in years gone by and ownership did not care one bit about the paying customers. My last visit was 5-6 years ago. I was playing in an American Rotation league over the summer. At 9pm, I gazed at the thermostat as I was sweating my ass off waiting for my next match. EIGHTY FIVE degrees. That was it for me. I never went back and vowed to not play in a room that refused to run air conditioning.
 
Well I had met the old owner in Arizona at a large event at Kolbys in Tempe.

Conversation started about his Case, and why it said Hardtimes.

We talk about his business, and not being gold mine, and why.

Plus the constant problem he had, and he would sell.

Think if they could have sold bottle, or can beer might have helped the bottom line.

Bellflower is not nice, not we’re you want to break down after dark.
 
rexus31 said:
In all honesty, good riddance. It's sad to see a pool hall close but Hard Times was a mere shadow of itself for the past 10-15 years. The equipment was not taken care of as it had been in years gone by and ownership did not care one bit about the paying customers. My last visit was 5-6 years ago. I was playing in an American Rotation league over the summer. At 9pm, I gazed at the thermostat as I was sweating my ass off waiting for my next match. EIGHTY FIVE degrees. That was it for me. I never went back and vowed to not play in a room that refused to run air conditioning.
Click to expand...
I have a friend who was a regular for years. Staked a lot of players. He told me the last 7-8yrs he had no desire to go except for the odd tournament. Said same thing about the lack of a/c. The place ran its course and now its done.
 
jjohnson said:
Hard Times Bellflower On the Scene

I call every day and hang up after ten rings with no answer.
I went by about a month ago and the red awning is gone. No great loss since it was in tatters anyway.
The entire front entrance facing the parking lot is whitewashed.
All the windows and doors are blackened. Locked up tighter than a drum.
But through the crack between the front doors you can look in. The jukebox is in there all lit up.
You can make out a couple of tables near the jukebox. They have a thick layer of dust (L.A. smog buildup) on them.
The place has the feel of a ghost town.
I took a few pics but cannot figure out how to get them off my phone.
If anyone wants them and maybe post them on this new thread I can text them to you.

These are the hardest times for Hard Times Bellflower.
Click to expand...

When I have pictures on my phone I email them to myself and open up the email on my computer then download them. From there its easy to do whatever you want with them.
 
fastone371 said:
When I have pictures on my phone I email them to myself and open up the email on my computer then download them. From there its easy to do whatever you want with them.
Click to expand...
I can't upload pictures from phone directly...have to take a screenshot of the pic and the screenshot will upload.
 
8cree said:
likely story...
Click to expand...
Screenshot_20210521-194215.jpg
 
jjohnson said:
Hard Times Bellflower On the Scene

I call every day and hang up after ten rings with no answer.
I went by about a month ago and the red awning is gone. No great loss since it was in tatters anyway.
The entire front entrance facing the parking lot is whitewashed.
All the windows and doors are blackened. Locked up tighter than a drum.
But through the crack between the front doors you can look in. The jukebox is in there all lit up.
You can make out a couple of tables near the jukebox. They have a thick layer of dust (L.A. smog buildup) on them.
The place has the feel of a ghost town.
I took a few pics but cannot figure out how to get them off my phone.
If anyone wants them and maybe post them on this new thread I can text them to you.

These are the hardest times for Hard Times Bellflower.
Click to expand...

I am just guessing but all the tables and associated equipment I think is still inside the room. Might be an opportunity to get into a known location on the cheap and have your own room. I think I will try to get in touch with the landlord and see what's up. There is a small market in the same building right next door. I should be able to get the landlord's phone number from them. I'll see but I am a seasoned procrastinator. So don't hold your breath.
 
fastone371 said:
When I have pictures on my phone I email them to myself and open up the email on my computer then download them. From there its easy to do whatever you want with them.
Click to expand...
You can set up your phone to save your pictures in Dropbox, that synchronizes automatically on your computer. Saves you a step. That's what I do.
 
jjohnson said:
I am just guessing but all the tables and associated equipment I think is still inside the room. Might be an opportunity to get into a known location on the cheap and have your own room. I think I will try to get in touch with the landlord and see what's up. There is a small market in the same building right next door. I should be able to get the landlord's phone number from them. I'll see but I am a seasoned procrastinator. So don't hold your breath.
Click to expand...
Well??? what did you find out?
 
jjohnson said:
I am just guessing but all the tables and associated equipment I think is still inside the room. Might be an opportunity to get into a known location on the cheap and have your own room. I think I will try to get in touch with the landlord and see what's up. There is a small market in the same building right next door. I should be able to get the landlord's phone number from them. I'll see but I am a seasoned procrastinator. So don't hold your breath.
Click to expand...
No such thing in the land of commercial real estate in LA. Last I heard, the lease was north of $15K and the owner of the block has been trying to vacate the tenants for years to embark on a new development. It's dead, let it die. There was rumors about Eddie (HT owner) scouting out a new location but I still don't see how it could work unless he tried to get an alcohol license and the new place has a kitchen. It's actually quite amazing they made it as long as they did with no menu or alcohol. With real estate pricing being what they are here, they would need food and booze to generate a majority of the revenue and turn a profit. Maybe they'd run the AC then but not likely.
 
So sad, last time I went there was about 10 years ago, maybe more, but felt like a shell of what was going on back in the early 90s. That was an amazing time for pool in so cal where Hardtimes was THE gathering of pros. I was even there for the Efren vs Amarillo Slim legendary one pocket match.

All good things come to an end.
 
hotelyorba said:
You can set up your phone to save your pictures in Dropbox, that synchronizes automatically on your computer. Saves you a step. That's what I do.
Click to expand...

Im not sure that I am smart enough to do that. Im lucky that I was even able to email them to myself. I came of age when we still had rotary dial phones and fire alarm boxes on street corners. :) :)
 
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