Hi everyone. New member, first post.
I'm thinking about opening a new hall. I realise now isn't the best time to do this, but reading through the posts on older threads, I get the feeling that the general consensus seems to be that as long as there is a good menu (food and alcohol) to go with the pool tables, it should be a viable business. Needless to say, other things that are essential are a clean environment and pool leagues/house tournaments.
Also, it appears to me that throughout the US, many players are putting up with terrible playing conditions (lousy tables and equipment, dirty smokey halls, etc) simply because there isn't somewhere better to play.
Would it be reasonable then to assume that if I were to open up a pool hall to take care of all these "problems", I could potentially pull customers from all these "substandard" halls and make a decent living from it? I know the business will not make me a rich man. It's just that I've loved pool for a long time and want to fulfill my dream of becoming a pool hall owner. At the moment, I'm leaning towards something like Grady's Billiards (Grady Matthews's hall), where serious players come to play, but with good alcohol and good food included. Planning on putting in 9 tables.
Another observation I've made is that while pool is on the decline with the younger generation in the West, the Asian countries seem to be churning out top competitive players in industrial numbers. Philippines and Taiwan come immediately to mind. Does anyone have any intel on what they're doing right in those countries? Are their pool halls any different from those in the states?
Would love to hear your comments. Thanks!
I'm thinking about opening a new hall. I realise now isn't the best time to do this, but reading through the posts on older threads, I get the feeling that the general consensus seems to be that as long as there is a good menu (food and alcohol) to go with the pool tables, it should be a viable business. Needless to say, other things that are essential are a clean environment and pool leagues/house tournaments.
Also, it appears to me that throughout the US, many players are putting up with terrible playing conditions (lousy tables and equipment, dirty smokey halls, etc) simply because there isn't somewhere better to play.
Would it be reasonable then to assume that if I were to open up a pool hall to take care of all these "problems", I could potentially pull customers from all these "substandard" halls and make a decent living from it? I know the business will not make me a rich man. It's just that I've loved pool for a long time and want to fulfill my dream of becoming a pool hall owner. At the moment, I'm leaning towards something like Grady's Billiards (Grady Matthews's hall), where serious players come to play, but with good alcohol and good food included. Planning on putting in 9 tables.
Another observation I've made is that while pool is on the decline with the younger generation in the West, the Asian countries seem to be churning out top competitive players in industrial numbers. Philippines and Taiwan come immediately to mind. Does anyone have any intel on what they're doing right in those countries? Are their pool halls any different from those in the states?
Would love to hear your comments. Thanks!