Archer's Place, Marietta Ga...??

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Freezer's is no more. Called 'Mills Modern Social' now. Re-opened 2-17.
Wow! Freezer's closed? I must have missed that. Was it due to Corona? Or it closed before? Is the new place the same, just different owner and/or management?
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Did this place ever open?? Was slated to open fall of '18 but i've never heard a thing about it.
The Pool Room in Marietta, which was the name of it, was one of my very favorite out of state pool halls to visit. It was a massive place with what had to be well over 30 tables and it seemed like there was at least 10 feet between tables. I’m not sure what years Archer and Davenport were involved, but I would go there a few times a year between the late 1990s up until roughly 2015.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
The Pool Room in Marietta, which was the name of it, was one of my very favorite out of state pool halls to visit. It was a massive place with what had to be well over 30 tables and it seemed like there was at least 10 feet between tables. I’m not sure what years Archer and Davenport were involved, but I would go there a few times a year between the late 1990s up until roughly 2015.

And you probably never saw Johnny in there. He rarely went to his own poolroom, big mistake. Kim basically managed the place until they had a falling out, and Johnny bought out his share.
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
And you probably never saw Johnny in there. He rarely went to his own poolroom, big mistake. Kim basically managed the place until they had a falling out, and Johnny bought out his share.
Yeah, you have to be there to run a Pool room, unless you can hire a manager who you can really trust, which is rare. The wait staff is going to care less about the pool part of the business. They just don’t know to look out for things the way a pool playing owner/manager does.
 

krelldog

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I visited Marietta Billiards in 2014. I was on a family vacation and drove an hour out of my way to check it out.
It was a huge pool room with 50-60 9 foot tables. I was literally the only person playing pool, the place was empty.
My table was a beat up Olhausen that was so philthy that I asked an employee if I could change tables....it was that bad.
The girl came back with a brush and brushed the table down, ignoring the fact that there was debris under the rails...
so instead of switching me to a better table.....she insisted I stay on this garbage table. I ended up cutting my session short.

I was also struck by the fact....the lobby had glass enclosures for hats/hoodies/tshirts/sweatshirts.....except they were empty.
I would have easily spent a couple hundred dollars on gear....but there was none to buy.

I walked out of Marietta Billiards shaking my head......A completely mismanaged shit hole.
 

Dead Money

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
And you probably never saw Johnny in there. He rarely went to his own poolroom, big mistake. Kim basically managed the place until they had a falling out, and Johnny bought out his share.
Yes. Plus there are a lot of people that would come play there specifically to meet Johnny and maybe get a few tips on pool playing while they are there! It would be worth a one time visit just for that!
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I visited Marietta Billiards in 2014. I was on a family vacation and drove an hour out of my way to check it out.
It was a huge pool room with 50-60 9 foot tables. I was literally the only person playing pool, the place was empty.
My table was a beat up Olhausen that was so philthy that I asked an employee if I could change tables....it was that bad.
The girl came back with a brush and brushed the table down, ignoring the fact that there was debris under the rails...
so instead of switching me to a better table.....she insisted I stay on this garbage table. I ended up cutting my session short.

I was also struck by the fact....the lobby had glass enclosures for hats/hoodies/tshirts/sweatshirts.....except they were empty.
I would have easily spent a couple hundred dollars on gear....but there was none to buy.

I walked out of Marietta Billiards shaking my head......A completely mismanaged shit hole.
Sounds like the place really went downhill compared to how it was in the early 2000 ‘s when it was going strong. It’s not hard to tell when you walk in a place whether it’s been kept up - particularly the pool tables. If the pool tables/balls/cloth are not clean, that’s really all you need to know. In a market / location that big which has plenty of potential customers, it can only be due to mismanagement / neglect of the pool room, the bar, the food and beverage operation, or most likely all of the above.
 

9ballscorpion

Active member
I visited Marietta Billiards in 2014. I was on a family vacation and drove an hour out of my way to check it out.
It was a huge pool room with 50-60 9 foot tables. I was literally the only person playing pool, the place was empty.
My table was a beat up Olhausen that was so philthy that I asked an employee if I could change tables....it was that bad.
The girl came back with a brush and brushed the table down, ignoring the fact that there was debris under the rails...
so instead of switching me to a better table.....she insisted I stay on this garbage table. I ended up cutting my session short.

I was also struck by the fact....the lobby had glass enclosures for hats/hoodies/tshirts/sweatshirts.....except they were empty.
I would have easily spent a couple hundred dollars on gear....but there was none to buy.

I walked out of Marietta Billiards shaking my head......A completely mismanaged shit hole.

That sounds horrible. Johnny was probably mostly retired from Pool, I assume, so why would he not be running his own pool room, and care to keep the place looking nice, and the tables and cloth in good condition?

Mr Cues II, in Atlanta is a pool room that I would love to visit someday. I bet it is super nice.
 

9ballscorpion

Active member
Freezer's is no more. Called 'Mills Modern Social' now. Re-opened 2-17.

Oh, wow, sad to hear that. From reading the reviews, it sounds like it is even nicer then it was when it was Freezer's, which is hard to believe. I see that it does not market itself as a pool hall though.

About | Mill's Modern Social

From the reviews, it sounds like it is still partly a pool hall though. Seems like a really unique place.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Oh, wow, sad to hear that. From reading the reviews, it sounds like it is even nicer then it was when it was Freezer's, which is hard to believe. I see that it does not market itself as a pool hall though.

About | Mill's Modern Social

From the reviews, it sounds like it is still partly a pool hall though. Seems like a really unique place.
Its real close to ASU so this format makes sense. The pure sports-bar idea must have not clicked.
 

Jimmorrison

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
During the recent Olson-Robinson match, Archer stopped in the booth and talked about the new place quite a bit. Scorpion Den.
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
During the recent Olson-Robinson match, Archer stopped in the booth and talked about the new place quite a bit. Scorpion Den.
I hope he’s learned from his previous mistakes made as a poolroom owner in this next venture. You MUST have an experienced qualified front of the house manager you can trust, who manages the pool room, the bar, and the wait staff. You MUST $ compensate your manager well as rewarding all your other employees with a decent enough $ wage so they have pride in their work.

Even though Johnny’s expertise is in pool, he MUST prioritize his bar/food and beverage operation as an absolutely essential aspect as to the success of the venture, including hiring an experienced and proven back of the house food and beverage / kitchen / chef manager and $ compensate them well.

Lastly, you still MUST manage to be present as much as you can, for the benefit not only of your customers, but to make sure your employees are all doing all they can to promote and represent your business.
 
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Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That sounds horrible. Johnny was probably mostly retired from Pool, I assume, so why would he not be running his own pool room, and care to keep the place looking nice, and the tables and cloth in good condition?

Mr Cues II, in Atlanta is a pool room that I would love to visit someday. I bet it is super nice.
Joking? Sounds a lot like work. That is not in the average top level pro's wheel house of skills, much less a forte.
 

maha

from way back when
Silver Member
if i ever want to get into a retail business about pool. the only person in with me would be jay helfert.

i thought about a couple years ago getting hold of him and having the worlds biggest pool gathering but decided against the work for little to show even if it made good money which it would if done right.

any business or venture if it wants to succeed has to have most all its customers leave with a smile that says i cant wait to return.
 

Cuedup

Well-known member
That sounds horrible. Johnny was probably mostly retired from Pool, I assume, so why would he not be running his own pool room, and care to keep the place looking nice, and the tables and cloth in good condition?

Mr Cues II, in Atlanta is a pool room that I would love to visit someday. I bet it is super nice.
Played there is a tournament this weekend. About 40 or so tables, 8 and 9 foot GC's with a couple of snooker tables. Nice place, better since going non-smoking.
 

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Played there is a tournament this weekend. About 40 or so tables, 8 and 9 foot GC's with a couple of snooker tables. Nice place, better since going non-smoking.
Mr Cues 2 went non-smoking? Wow. I haven’t been there for a few years.
 

cueman

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
And you probably never saw Johnny in there. He rarely went to his own poolroom, big mistake. Kim basically managed the place until they had a falling out, and Johnny bought out his share.
Johnny was there pretty often when he was in town. I even beet him in a weekly tournament there. I like to mention that whenever I get a chance.
 

cueman

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I visited Marietta Billiards in 2014. I was on a family vacation and drove an hour out of my way to check it out.
It was a huge pool room with 50-60 9 foot tables. I was literally the only person playing pool, the place was empty.
My table was a beat up Olhausen that was so philthy that I asked an employee if I could change tables....it was that bad.
The girl came back with a brush and brushed the table down, ignoring the fact that there was debris under the rails...
so instead of switching me to a better table.....she insisted I stay on this garbage table. I ended up cutting my session short.

I was also struck by the fact....the lobby had glass enclosures for hats/hoodies/tshirts/sweatshirts.....except they were empty.
I would have easily spent a couple hundred dollars on gear....but there was none to buy.

I walked out of Marietta Billiards shaking my head......A completely mismanaged shit hole.
They let it go near the end, which probably brought on the end. It was a first class pool room for many years. Those glass cabinets were once filled with cues, cases and other things. I think Johnny is planning to open a smaller room that will be easier to manage.
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Simple answer to a long question. You still can be successful in owning and operating a poolroom or sports bar if you know what you're doing. Being a good player is not a prerequisite.

I have a vision of a billiards super store, kind of like Bass Pro Shops for outdoors types. It would be both a first class poolroom and a billiard supply. There could be separate areas for pool tables, cues, and even cue repairs. You could offer a full range of equipment from starter level gear to high end merchandise. Of course, an eating area and bar would be on the playing side. I'm probably talking a 500K investment to build it out but you would have something sustainable that could turn a healthy profit if run right. Just an idea, that's all.

So like a smaller but permanent SBE?

A place near me opened with a great setup, 8 good tables, good restaurant attached to it, and the best part is the guy running it was a pool guy and had a wall of customs like AE, Samsara, etc.. for sale. Like pretty much every other place it ended up going downhill with less and less focus on pool, taking out some pool tables and expanding into more bar seating, at this point I don't even know if they have any tables at all now. Last time I was there no cues and the tables were shoved into one side like they were storing furniture.
 
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