Lost another poolroom......

noMoreSchon

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Stix here in Wichita will be shutting its doors Christmas eve. So add that one to another

long list of rooms no longer alive. I have been playing around with the numbers of a

member only type of place, and it just doesn't seem doable without alcohol. Annual fees

with a monthly due, I figured $150 annually, and $35 monthly...but when I speak to other

players about it....nope, to much. With 60 monthly players paying dues its $34,200 a year.

And I think that getting 30 players would be a stretch.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Sad news here in Springtown. Shooters has gone out of business.
Shooters was a small room of eight full-size tables, four, or so, bar boxes, and a Snooker table. As with many small businesses the reason was probably profit, or the lack thereof, that caused them to close their doors.
That leaves only Billiards, which as many of you know is referred to as a Bar and Grill.
Slowly we turn. Step by step......
:)
You in Springfield,Mo? Which place did DarrenEverett used to own? Ever see Danny Harriman around any more?
 

maha

from way back when
Silver Member
most pool rooms ive been in are run by owners who are poor business people or by an absentee owner who hires a person for minimum wage who couldnt care about the business.
they are destined to fail under that. a few still make it though.
 

KJ Cues

Pro Cue Builder & Repair
Silver Member
Love of the game is expressed through the dollars you'll spend to support it.
If you don't want to spend the dollars, the game can't/won't live on love alone.
Keep telling yourselves and each other how much love you have for the game.
Then join together for a moment of silent prayer as your beloved game dies.
Each and every one on this forum has or wishes they had, their own table.
Support of the game isn't a one shot deal and you'll soon tire of playing yourself.
Nothing wrong with owning a table but how does that support the local room ?
It doesn't.
What it does is to show your friends that YOU can afford it. I'm sure they're impressed.
It doesn't matter to me in the least. I'm comfortable and where I want to be and Ill soon be gone.
If you don't want to spend the money, don't expect pool to give you anything in return.

It's like quality cues cost more for a reason. Keep going cheap and having Danny Donut do your cue-work
and the best will soon realize that they can't afford to stay in business. They'll soon be gone also.
You're doing it to yourselves and to the game you claim to love but you're too blind to see.
Pretty cheap as well.
You're offended by my post because you know that I'm speaking to you.

KJ
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
When room owners start letting their pool tables get run down, the carpeting looking like shit, bathrooms stink, and the place looks like it hasn't been cleaned in forever....I'm all for them shutting their doors. There's way to many pool rooms in this country that don't care about attracting new customers, or keeping the ones they DO have....coming back, or coming in. So, I feel like there's still to many bad pool rooms in this country and a lot more of them need to close down....so they can make room for new pool rooms to open that DO care about the business!!!
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Welcome to the real world. It ain't for sissies and very few of us get carried along.

A business has to offer a product that is sufficient to convince patrons to part with their resources, whether it is first-time or continued patronage.

Micro solutions for macro problems are like square pegs for round holes: not many fit.

Love of the game is expressed through the dollars you'll spend to support it.
If you don't want to spend the dollars, the game can't/won't live on love alone.
Keep telling yourselves and each other how much love you have for the game.
Then join together for a moment of silent prayer as your beloved game dies.
Each and every one on this forum has or wishes they had, their own table.
Support of the game isn't a one shot deal and you'll soon tire of playing yourself.
Nothing wrong with owning a table but how does that support the local room ?
It doesn't.
What it does is to show your friends that YOU can afford it. I'm sure they're impressed.
It doesn't matter to me in the least. I'm comfortable and where I want to be and Ill soon be gone.
If you don't want to spend the money, don't expect pool to give you anything in return.

It's like quality cues cost more for a reason. Keep going cheap and having Danny Donut do your cue-work
and the best will soon realize that they can't afford to stay in business. They'll soon be gone also.
You're doing it to yourselves and to the game you claim to love but you're too blind to see.
Pretty cheap as well.
You're offended by my post because you know that I'm speaking to you.

KJ
 

Tramp Steamer

One Pocket enthusiast.
Silver Member
When room owners start letting their pool tables get run down, the carpeting looking like shit, bathrooms stink, and the place looks like it hasn't been cleaned in forever....I'm all for them shutting their doors. There's way to many pool rooms in this country that don't care about attracting new customers, or keeping the ones they DO have....coming back, or coming in. So, I feel like there's still to many bad pool rooms in this country and a lot more of them need to close down....so they can make room for new pool rooms to open that DO care about the business!!!


Neglect wasn't the problem here. I had been in there a couple of times and the place was well kept, and the tables looked as good as you would want them to.
Like I said, I had heard the rent was high, and wages, taxes, and general upkeep all take their toll.
It certainly was not a bad pool room.
 

Tramp Steamer

One Pocket enthusiast.
Silver Member
Love of the game is expressed through the dollars you'll spend to support it.
If you don't want to spend the dollars, the game can't/won't live on love alone.
Keep telling yourselves and each other how much love you have for the game.
Then join together for a moment of silent prayer as your beloved game dies.
Each and every one on this forum has or wishes they had, their own table.
Support of the game isn't a one shot deal and you'll soon tire of playing yourself.
Nothing wrong with owning a table but how does that support the local room ?
It doesn't.
What it does is to show your friends that YOU can afford it. I'm sure they're impressed.
It doesn't matter to me in the least. I'm comfortable and where I want to be and Ill soon be gone.
If you don't want to spend the money, don't expect pool to give you anything in return.
It's like quality cues cost more for a reason. Keep going cheap and having Danny Donut do your cue-work
and the best will soon realize that they can't afford to stay in business. They'll soon be gone also.
You're doing it to yourselves and to the game you claim to love but you're too blind to see.
Pretty cheap as well.
You're offended by my post because you know that I'm speaking to you.
KJ

What the hell has this got to do with a poolroom closing it's doors?
 

realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Neglect wasn't the problem here. I had been in there a couple of times and the place was well kept, and the tables looked as good as you would want them to.
Like I said, I had heard the rent was high, and wages, taxes, and general upkeep all take their toll.
It certainly was not a bad pool room.

I don't know the particulars of that pool room, but I do know that more often than not, the room owners are the straw that breaks the camels back. Absentee room owners are the number one reason why pool rooms close their doors. While choosing to draw a paycheck and not show up for work, they place the same burden on a pool rooms profits that any other employees would if the continued to get paid without having to show up for work. Furthermore, because of their absence at the job site, they become blind to employee theft, customer service....and customer complaints, which is the first sign of trouble. If there's no one complaining, it's because no one's showing up. Number crunchers would rather close the business and blame the closure on the high cost of doing business, rather than pull a shift themselves thereby lowering some of the expenses, and see what's really going on with their own two eyes. Back when I was playing pool, room owners were always their and more often than not, if you were looking for some action, you didn't have to look to long as the room owner was a player too!!
 

336Robin

Multiverse Operative
Silver Member
Commercial Space

Neglect wasn't the problem here. I had been in there a couple of times and the place was well kept, and the tables looked as good as you would want them to.
Like I said, I had heard the rent was high, and wages, taxes, and general upkeep all take their toll.
It certainly was not a bad pool room.

Its a familiar story and is happening all over because of the cost of commercial space that is attractive enough to have foot traffic and draw customers. The tables are some what of a draw for food and bar business and of course there is what city are you in? Does your clientele work a job that provides them with expendable income in which they can afford $30 a week for their avocation? If you don't have those things you're going to be changing the business plan or going out eventually or breaking even or worse for a long time.

I havent done the numbers but I think it would be hard to get a room to work out using warehouse cost space. This might be what leagues have to resort to at some point to run their businesses but so far they have plenty of people that want to try a pool component in their bars so that they skate free. I wonder of that time is a coming? Who knows but we are going to see from the likes of it.
 

Tramp Steamer

One Pocket enthusiast.
Silver Member
I don't know the particulars of that pool room, but I do know that more often than not, the room owners are the straw that breaks the camels back. Absentee room owners are the number one reason why pool rooms close their doors. While choosing to draw a paycheck and not show up for work, they place the same burden on a pool rooms profits that any other employees would if the continued to get paid without having to show up for work. Furthermore, because of their absence at the job site, they become blind to employee theft, customer service....and customer complaints, which is the first sign of trouble. If there's no one complaining, it's because no one's showing up. Number crunchers would rather close the business and blame the closure on the high cost of doing business, rather than pull a shift themselves thereby lowering some of the expenses, and see what's really going on with their own two eyes. Back when I was playing pool, room owners were always their and more often than not, if you were looking for some action, you didn't have to look to long as the room owner was a player too!!

Makes sense.
 

NitPicker

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I don't think people realize how expensive pool can be as a past time. I believe this is indicative of how good people actually have it. After you invest in the light stuff, like cues, chalk, gloves, etc...the major investment comes once you start playing. You either make a big investment in your own table (and limit your time at pool halls) or you pay by the hour. That's pretty steep for something that takes significant time to learn to play even partially well. Compare this to other sports where investment in a single ball is all that's needed for everyone to play...then all you have to find is some open grass.

A bar and grill makes money from food and beverages. If a food and beverage business kept pool tables onsite and in service...I'd consider that a big f'ing win for pool and be much more appreciative that someone cares enough to bother putting pool tables when they could probably make much more money putting in extra dining tables.
 
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