Drexeline billiards closing soon.

chefjeff said:
Would they take out a golf course?


Jeff Livingston
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Sure. In my county there was 7 golf courses. Now there are two and they are private. Public courses get bulldozed all the time for development. Bowling the same. I don't know how many there were, must have been at least 5. But now I know of only one that is left in my city.
As far as Bobby goes, he must have known for a few years this was coming. I think he has some kind of plan one way or another. Kind of an undertaking though opening a pool room from scratch. He would have some customer base to start but still a big job and cost. Especially after still trying to recover from the pandemic. He is probably already pretty beat up.
 
middleofnowhere said:
Sure. In my county there was 7 golf courses. Now there are two and they are private. Public courses get bulldozed all the time for development. Bowling the same. I don't know how many there were, must have been at least 5. But now I know of only one that is left in my city.
As far as Bobby goes, he must have known for a few years this was coming. I think he has some kind of plan one way or another. Kind of an undertaking though opening a pool room from scratch. He would have some customer base to start but still a big job and cost. Especially after still trying to recover from the pandemic. He is probably already pretty beat up.
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Around here they take out courses (the one where I shot a 36, one over, my best effort) but then the govt subsidize new ones or steal a bit of land for 'em. Then there are the baseball diamonds, football fields, soccer complexes the size of Disneyland, all supported by the taxpayers.

Meanwhile, pool is seen as criminal, zoned to the loading docks, regulated out of profits, told by mama to never go there, and taxed like there's no tomorrow.


Jeff Livingston
 
middleofnowhere said:
The Delaware County Daily Times: Approval for Drexeline redevelopment means last rack for billiards club.
www.delcotimes.com

Approval for Drexeline redevelopment means last rack for billiards club

UPPER DARBY —In a unanimous vote held recently Upper Darby Township Council granted final approval for the Drexeline Redevelopment Project to move ahead.
www.delcotimes.com www.delcotimes.com
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Florida Bob, the owner of Drexeline is a very savvy businessman.
He promotes the game and works with the younger players.
Guarantee you he has a location already picked out for the new room.

Drexeline is a poolroom that has always had an extremely large group of regular players and
lots of casual players.
Four tables, if I'm not mistaken, are dedicated to one pocket.
Many 9 foot Gold Crowns, two 8 foot Gold Crowns, two 7 foot diamonds.
Two heated carom tables that get plenty of play.
If you ever make it to Drexeline you will be amazed at the amount of pool memorabilia showcased in the room.
 
philly said:
Florida Bob, the owner of Drexeline is a very savvy businessman.
He promotes the game and works with the younger players.
Guarantee you he has a location already picked out for the new room.

Drexeline is a poolroom that has always had an extremely large group of regular players and
lots of casual players.
Four tables, if I'm not mistaken, are dedicated to one pocket.
Many 9 foot Gold Crowns, two 8 foot Gold Crowns, two 7 foot diamonds.
Two heated carom tables that get plenty of play.
If you ever make it to Drexeline you will be amazed at the amount of pool memorabilia showcased in the room.
Click to expand...
That's all true but the problem is moving a pool room or even opening a pool room from scratch he's a major undertaking. They require a lot of parking quite a bit of square footage. There's also a lot to build out and install and make it ready to pass inspections huge expense.

Not like opening an auto parts store where you roll a bunch of shelves and stock them up and nobody even cares what your bathrooms look like. I have owned several pool rooms and I bought each one of them.

The one I actually tried to open from scratch I gave up and it already had been a year and I still didn't have all the permission required. At Bobby's age I don't know does he really want to do this again.
 
Sad news for sure. Drexeline Billiards has a very rich history in our sport and its absence will be felt.
 
The construction project that is leveling the whole shopping center was stuck in red tape about 4 years now. We all thought Drexeline was going to close then. They even filled the parking lot with construction vehicles at the time. But red tape put an end to it and almost all the tenants moved out but no demolition actually occurred. It looks like the red tape has been finally cut and demolition to begin soon.
 
middleofnowhere said:
That's all true but the problem is moving a pool room or even opening a pool room from scratch he's a major undertaking. They require a lot of parking quite a bit of square footage. There's also a lot to build out and install and make it ready to pass inspections huge expense.

Not like opening an auto parts store where you roll a bunch of shelves and stock them up and nobody even cares what your bathrooms look like. I have owned several pool rooms and I bought each one of them.

The one I actually tried to open from scratch I gave up and it already had been a year and I still didn't have all the permission required. At Bobby's age I don't know does he really want to do this again.
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Yes it's a lot of work.
If Bob opens nearby he already has a huge following.
Wishing him much success.
 
middleofnowhere said:
... At Bobby's age I don't know does he really want to do this again.
Click to expand...
From the article linked in post #1:

Maidhof said his club won’t be part of the Drexeline as the costs would be prohibitive. He does hope to open elsewhere.​
​
“We have a plan. I’m trying to stay very local for my regulars. I don’t want the flame to go out yet. It’s been a long time and a lot of history here,” he said. “I have some other spots within a couple mile radius in mind right now. It’s just a matter of doing the math.”​
 
chefjeff said:
Would they take out a golf course?


Jeff Livingston
Click to expand...
The pool hall space is obviously rented from a landlord who owns the entire complex. The rest of the complex is empty so clearly the current use of his property is not viable.

I get it...its a pool hall so ain't it awful that its closing or moving...but the city government is simply acknowledging that what the property owner has decided to turn his land into is legal. The guy who runs his business out of an otherwise vacant strip mall seems to understand.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 
logical said:
The pool hall space is obviously rented from a landlord who owns the entire complex. The rest of the complex is empty so clearly the current use of his property is not viable.

I get it...its a pool hall so ain't it awful that its closing or moving...but the city government is simply acknowledging that what the property owner has decided to turn his land into is legal. The guy who runs his business out of an otherwise vacant strip mall seems to understand.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
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I suppose we'd better get used to this.


Jeff Livingston
 
I played there once and liked it. I'll keep an eye out for the opening of the new location.
 
Changes underway in western Philly.
sounds like he does have positive intentions to re-open somewhere else.
Will Prout
 
AtLarge said:
From the article linked in post #1:

Maidhof said his club won’t be part of the Drexeline as the costs would be prohibitive. He does hope to open elsewhere.​
​
“We have a plan. I’m trying to stay very local for my regulars. I don’t want the flame to go out yet. It’s been a long time and a lot of history here,” he said. “I have some other spots within a couple mile radius in mind right now. It’s just a matter of doing the math.”​
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Bob is a very good businessman.
He'll find the right location at the right price.

Drexeline is 40 minutes from me but I used to hit it at least every couple of weeks.
I always warmed up for an hour on one of their Chevillotte 3 cushion tables if one was open.

Drexeline was the spot for one pocket if that was your game.
 
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