It is very difficult to open a pool room in So Cal these days. Rents are high, permits are difficult to obtain and landlords are afraid to let pool rooms in their centers. One can easily pay $1.50/sq ft. or more and good luck with that. If we have any disruption in our economy (like covid) entertainment dollars are not spent so freely. Sal had to do what was best economically for him. I know for a fact his landlord wouldn't work with him on th rent so he was stuck. Fortunately he has a fallback position.
Butera's closing.....
- Thread starter garczar
- Start date
The landlord in question likely already has another tenant in mind or is selling the property.
The only way to survive is low overhead and low expectations!
In New York we are still closed under governmental order. I shifted to a club model, members only with a fingerprint access magnetic door lock. I negotiated a rent 50% decrease until June 1st. I'm working on reducing my rent for the year beyond that which will mark the end of a 5 year renewable lease. At the same time I'm negotiating the option if renting half the space abd permanent remaing a club with 8nine foot tables and a billiard table.
Big table pool is going to continue to decrease...Covid has exacerbated that. If you fail to realize that and own a room, expect to see more pain in the coming years.
The only way to survive is low overhead and low expectations!
In New York we are still closed under governmental order. I shifted to a club model, members only with a fingerprint access magnetic door lock. I negotiated a rent 50% decrease until June 1st. I'm working on reducing my rent for the year beyond that which will mark the end of a 5 year renewable lease. At the same time I'm negotiating the option if renting half the space abd permanent remaing a club with 8nine foot tables and a billiard table.
Big table pool is going to continue to decrease...Covid has exacerbated that. If you fail to realize that and own a room, expect to see more pain in the coming years.
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The first pool hall I went to was Lou's in Wilkes-Barre, PA about 53 years ago. It cost a penny a minute. I had no idea who Lou was, but several years later I saw him play and exhibition straight pool match in W-B with Mosconi. I'd never seen that level of play before, and it's what really got me interested in learning the game. It was an honor to watch those two pros demonstrate their skill.
Yes already received. Also did a EIDL loan of $24,900...no collateral and no personal gaurantee if under 25k.
Should get balance of the EIDL grant which is 7k because my room is in an economically depressed area...it's very close and the government is very slow to give notification if I qualify.
I used to think Idaho, red state, would start turning blue with all the Californians coming but the reality is - a lot of the people coming from California are either Republicans or Democrats who've had enough so I don't think there's been much change here. The same could be said for Texas.
Wrong, some think that the unreasonable govt restrictions causing reduced use of said property means that the costs of said restrictions should be SHARED between the renter and the landlord.
Landlords should also be smart enough to realize that they are better off working with someone who's already established than trying to get someone new in to get them their rent while all this covid horseshit is still BLAZING...
Jaden
Wow, you do realize that a successful business can turn into a not successful business if their clientele are cut in half by idiotic govt. mandates don't you?
I say all the businesses with smart owners should jump ship and leave commufornia before it's too late. The latest example of this is Tesla motors...
Jaden
Businesses going broke over governmental theatre.
neolux
Registered
Here it is.
Butera's Billiards | Moorpark CA
Butera's Billiards, Moorpark, California. 1,801 likes · 1 talking about this · 5,010 were here. Opened in August of 2008, Butera’s Billiards is classy mixed room of serious professional playerswww.facebook.com
Sal is a pro player and a good guy. I'm very sorry to see them close. Took the 45 minute drive out there many times when I was in So. Cal. It was a challenge for them but they seemed to be cutting it until covid. I liked the room a lot.
He's got some really nice Diamond tables, 7 and 9 foot. The 9 footers were redone by Real King Cobra.
Driving out to Moorpark to play at Sal's was well worth the 45 min drive from the SF Valley. Hope he reopens, soon! Gonna miss his old room.
G. Rocco
When you brought up greed it was the pretty much inevitable. They are CLOSE dancing partners.
Call me crazy or just call me human. As we all can see, people don't like being cooped up in their homes all day long, afraid to go anywhere. Computers are great and we can easily stay in touch with others we care about via phone or computer, But we can't have much in the way of personal contact, whether it be at a mall, a movie theater, a concert, a night club, a restaurant, a poolroom or anywhere else where people are used to getting together. At our core, we humans are very social creatures, very comfortable bouncing off each other all over the place. What Covid has done is greatly cut off what makes us human.
I say that after this is all over (maybe late this year) people will be itching for places to go and things to do. What better place than somewhere they can have fun socializing like a really cool sports bar, with all kinds of games to play, tv's to watch sports on, food to eat and drinks to wash it all down, and put a smile on our face. I was never in the "Pool" business. I was in the RECREATION business! Look up that word please. My job was to give people a fun place to go to and hang out for a few hours. Nothing made me happier than to see my place packed at night, music playing, full of people talking, laughing and having a good time, and of course the ching, ching, ching of the cash register didn't hurt either!
I'm trying to make a point here and I hope it's not falling on deaf ears. Sure, people will continue to spend a lot of time at home watching Netflix and playing video games and stuff like that. But every once in a while they want somewhere to go! I'd say the average person likes to get out at least once a week. That's your market and put me in a community of 50,000 people and I fuc'n guarantee you I could make a living to this day. One last caveat - the customer is KING! Treat everybody who comes through your doors like they are you best friend! Without them you have no business! Do that and watch what happens.
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Who added the politics? The politicians thought pool was something they could fuk up, so they did. It's what they do.
Politics was added to this thread because it is an integral part of life now, like it or not.
Jeff Livingston
Agreed. If you have a vision you need to be present to make sure that vision is materialized. How many places don't last because someone says "Oh, I'll just open this little restaurant and have someone run it for me" and poof, they're gone in a year.