Denver pool room to be featured on TV show tonight

macguy

macguy

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The reality show Bar Rescue is doing a show about a Denver pool room tonight on Spike TV. If you get it it might be cool if you are from there to watch. The premis is they go into a failing bar business and try to turn it around. Recently they did a show and I happened to flip it on and it was a place I go and I knew the people on the show. It is on tonight at 9 pm
 
It was on last Sunday, it was a Bar with Pool Tables. It was turned into a Money Making Bar with Pool Tables. It was not, and never was in the business, of promoting Pool, or Pool as its main income source.

Many of the think the Bar Rescue guy fixes, are problem that plague Pool Rooms also.
 
For those of us who are not able to watch the show, can you share with us the problems that were identified, and the solutions implemented?


CocoboloCowboy said:
It was on last Sunday, it was a Bar with Pool Tables. It was turned into a Money Making Bar with Pool Tables. It was not, and never was in the business, of promoting Pool, or Pool as its main income source.

Many of the think the Bar Rescue guy fixes, are problem that plague Pool Rooms also.
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CocoboloCowboy said:
It was on last Sunday, it was a Bar with Pool Tables. It was turned into a Money Making Bar with Pool Tables. It was not, and never was in the business, of promoting Pool, or Pool as its main income source.

Many of the think the Bar Rescue guy fixes, are problem that plague Pool Rooms also.
Click to expand...

I was going by what it said in the TV Guide. It says pool room. They are doing like 6 in a row tonight. It is still interesting if you are from there and see some of your friends on TV. It is amazing how badly some of these business are run they feature on the show.
 
ctyhntr said:
For those of us who are not able to watch the show, can you share with us the problems that were identified, and the solutions implemented?
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The main problem was the owner - he was (is?) an ***hole. He shouts at his employees for giving away free booze and he is the one doing it. He stand on the sidewalk and hollers ridiculous things at passerby's like "free sex" "free drinks"

Tons of college kids walk right past the place in order to go to other bars on the same street.

The show gives the bar an "identity" by theming it out in Americana. Puts red rails on the pool table with blue cloth. Adds laser lights, etc. Sort of like glow bowling.

Adds new drinks that appeal to college age kids, adds food specials that includes pool time, etc.
 
bigshooter said:
The show gives the bar an "identity" by theming it out in Americana. Puts red rails on the pool table with blue cloth. Adds laser lights, etc. Sort of like glow bowling...
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Someone should tell them Hollywood Billiards went out of business within months of doing that. :rolleyes:
 
I haven't watched it, and have no idea what place it might be, however, although I agree that there is a players pool room in the Denver area that needs help, the kind of changes implemented by the experts on the show are probably exactly the kinds of changes that take a players room and makes it into a bangers room. (Basically a bar with great food, cool drinks, attractive staff, and 3-4 kids standing around each pool table. You know the kind.......people that don't sit down when they're not shooting.........the same types that don't get it even after politely asking them to step aside 3-4 times)

Dave
 
Well Bar Rescue was back in Colorado last night at a Aurora HIP HOP BAR with problems, kind of love the show as it show the good, and bad of the BAR BIZ. IMHO many Pool Room, Pool Bars, and Sports Bars suffer from the same problems the show identifies, and fixes. Those problems drive customers away, to never return. JMHO
 
Tokyo-dave said:
I haven't watched it, and have no idea what place it might be, however, although I agree that there is a players pool room in the Denver area that needs help, the kind of changes implemented by the experts on the show are probably exactly the kinds of changes that take a players room and makes it into a bangers room. (Basically a bar with great food, cool drinks, attractive staff, and 3-4 kids standing around each pool table. You know the kind.......people that don't sit down when they're not shooting.........the same types that don't get it even after politely asking them to step aside 3-4 times)

Dave
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The original name of the place was ZanZbar Billiards, didn't seem like a players room but then again.... Before it just might have been a "pool players paradise" haha!:wink: Dead, free booze for regulars and an ecentric rude owner! When they were done it was pretty much about like Tokyo Daves description:D
 
It's amazing to see the mistakes made by owners and employees.

macguy said:
The reality show Bar Rescue is doing a show about a Denver pool room tonight on Spike TV. If you get it it might be cool if you are from there to watch. The premis is they go into a failing bar business and try to turn it around. Recently they did a show and I happened to flip it on and it was a place I go and I knew the people on the show. It is on tonight at 9 pm
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I had a bar for 13 years. For the 6 years before I opened up there were 6 people that leased the bar a failed.

It had a real rough reputation. The guy that had it for 10 years before that gave it the name of The living End. Speaks for itself.

One guy that had it for 6 months named it the Other place. They called him Killer. Speaks for itself also.

I accidently got into this plac. i was cleaning it up for the original owner after the last leasee destroyed it. I spent about $5,000 fixing it up and cleaning it and it was still a dump. When I was suppose to get paid the owner got put in jail. He also had a strip club in another city and they had locked up all his money. They were trying to bust him for Prositution, drugs and gambling. I don't think they accomplish any of the above but the bottom line was he couldn't give me back my investment plus the cash he owed for the work.

He told me just get a bar liecience and sell some beer. So that's what I did.

There was no sign on the building for about 2 months. Nobody even knew what to call it. My name was Gene and they called me Geno when I played ball so everyone started calling it Geno's

The place was packed. How cool was this. A bar with no name that was busier than anyone elses.

After about 9 months I started hiring people to help. the business was just to much for me and one other bartander. That's when the trouble started. In 13 years I got robbed 4 times.

The first time I made Wanted posters and then I had t shirts made up like wanted posters. They were a big hit. Everyone was wearing them.

Eventually I had the whole place remodeled and had 3 9 footers and 5 bar tables. For those 13 years it was like a whos who of pool with road players stopping to try and get my money. I sent almost all of them home broke.

This was from 1986 to 1999.

One time I fired everyone that worked there except for a new girl. They were all stealing.

I went through 72 bartenders in the 13 years.

The biggest problem in the bar business is you don't usually attract the cream of the crop when you run an ad for help. You really have to weed out the disfuctional people right away if you can because once they get a little control by being a bartender they can really screw up your business.

Another thing is to never hire customers. They already have some bad history with patrons that come there. Get some fresh blood in the place. Someone with no history.

I could take any flailing bar or poolhall and turn it into a gold mine. I am almost 60 and have no interest in doing so right now though.

It's not rocket science. These people going into these bars to try and help just have to be horrified at what's going on now.

Soon the show will be the same old same old. A whole bunch of disfunctional; people working for a sometimes disfuctional owner or manager that can't control or doesn't know how to control the situation on hand.

Most of the time it's just best to get rid of everyone and start over.

I did this for Kentucky Fried back in the 70's. Tried to keep everyone but it was almost impossible. Sometimes had to fire everyone and start over fresh.

It will make a great show though. I just know that this is the last thing that I want to do with my life is waste it trying to run a bar.

Toughest action on the face of the earth. it's like giving everyone the 5 out and the break with your life.

When I got out of it in 1999 it's the best thing that ever happened to me.

I finally had a life again.

My hats off to all the bar owners and poolroom operators out there. It's hard work and you have to learn from your mistakes real quick or your out of business.

Good Luck everyone out there.

Watch the show. The same things are going on in your own bars, night clubs and pool halls.

Get a quick education real quick to another world.
 
ZanZbar was kind of a kids place.
I believe that the owner also owns or owned Tarantula's downtown which is not a players room either, but more so that the ZanZbar.
The one time I played at Tarantula's I developed a deep hatred for loud Techno music, and the urge to shoot a DJ right in the ****ing head.
I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone, and the only person I played was this so-called professional pool player from Russia with a red Cuetec, and he could not play.

A very odd night of pool
There is no possibility of a real pool hall making it in Lodo, or anywhere in downtown Denver.
 
cuesblues said:
ZanZbar was kind of a kids place.
I believe that the owner also owns or owned Tarantula's downtown which is not a players room either, but more so that the ZanZbar.
The one time I played at Tarantula's I developed a deep hatred for loud Techno music, and the urge to shoot a DJ right in the ****ing head.
I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone, and the only person I played was this so-called professional pool player from Russia with a red Cuetec, and he could not play.

A very odd night of pool
There is no possibility of a real pool hall making it in Lodo, or anywhere in downtown Denver.
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So it is said. So it shall be. Ted has spoken :rolleyes:
 
The owner of ZanZbar gave away free champagne and beer, Hank charges for water. Somewhere there must be a happy medium in Denver.
 
skierlawyer said:
The owner of ZanZbar gave away free champagne and beer, Hank charges for water. Somewhere there must be a happy medium in Denver.
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Most Mediums are happy if you believe them and pay them.
You would think an educated man like you would know this.:rolleyes:
 
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