Heubler closing shop

Tinbender

Tinbender

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Just found out that Heubler is closing his shop effective April 2nd . A friend of mine called him wanting to have a cue refinished and he told him he was closing and would not be able to do it. Too bad,he made some really nice cues and was around for a long time.Don't know the reason why he is closing,maybe someone else here has more info.

Paul
 
Thats Truely sad to hear. I remember a lot of the storys I have herd.
A lot of the guys are getting old, I wonder how much knowledge will be lost?
 
I had Paul Huebler build a custom for me about 10 years ago and I believe he was contemplating retirement then. Maybe he couldn't find anyone he felt comfortable passing the torch to?
 
Well, that really sucks. Paul Huebler is one of the true ICONS of the industry. Huebler Cues always had a lower profile than other brands but they almost always enjoyed high praise from cue owners.

One of the best memories of my life was at my first BCA trade show in Kansas City with Paul Huebler.

As a complete newbie to the billiard industry, this was my first show and I came over from Germany on a shoestring to display my cases. I wanted to take some of my European friends out to American barbecue so I invited four people to go. These four turned to ten by the end of the day because of their business friends. One of them was Paul Huebler.

I had made reservations at a place called K.C. Masterpiece. I had no idea what kind of place it was I just picked it out of the phonebook. WHen we all got to the cabs Paul Huebler asked the driver what the best barbecue restaurant in town was. The driver said "dat be Gates". So Paul said take us to Gates. I tried to protest but Paul was assertive about the driver knowing better which place had the best barbecue. So off to Gates we went.

We arrived at a place in a quiet but dingy area of town. The restaurant looked kinda rundown from the outside. The neighborhood was clearly populated mostly by black folks. I, of course, had no problem personally, but I was concerned about my guests and their apprehensions because all they knew of American cities came from movies. But no biggie, we got into the restaurant without incident of course.

Inside the choices were to go through the line cafeteria style or to sit down and order from the menu. I chose to have us sit down and order. I ordered two "family platters" which were a smattering of everything. The waitress asked about drinks and I asked what she had and she rattled off a list. I then asked if she had Dr. Pepper and she said, "Did ah say Dr Pepper?". So I just ordered a couple pitchers of tea and Coke.

Then Paul Huebler asks her if she has wine. She says, "red or white?" Paul asks her for a particular brand. She gives him "the Look" and says, "Honey, just be glad we have wine, red or white?".

In the end the food was fantastic and we all had a good dinner. My total bill including tip for ten people was $110.

Several years later I dined at KC Masterpiece with a large group and our bill was over a thousand dollars and the food wasn't as good. So, thanks to Paul I dodged a bullet and got a memory of a lifetime.

At that same show Paul also graciously gave me a seat at his table at the BCA's Hall of Fame banquet. What a great first trade show that was.

Thank you Paul Huebler for all the great cues, for all the great support of the game, and personally for your graciousness and fond memories.
 
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Too bad. I have a heubler I got in the late '80's. I am glad I had them refinish and refurbish it about a year ago. Sad to see them go.
 
My experience...

I owned and played with 2 Hueblers, for over 25 years. I had a Huebler Sneaky Pete, named Sara, that I was very fond of for 19 years.

I met Paul Huebler at his booth in Vegas at the VNEA Nationals. I was looking at his cues, and a $1,300 Huebler caught my eye especially. He was very down to earth, easy to talk to, and as nice as he could possibly be. I was impressed with him, and very glad I got to meet the man that started the company. And to find out that the company was located next door to me in Missouri.
 
That's too bad. In my pool playing youth, I went through several cues. I would buy an expensive cue play with it for awhile and then sell it(variety is the spice of life). Everytime, I would buy a Huebler hustler to get me by until my next high dollar cue. Btw, John, I live in the KC area and Gates' is awesome. As a matter of fact, I may go get some now:)

Darryl
 
I dont know what to say. I had a Huebler, and I liked it. I think his workmanship is really nice.

John, what is American BBQ?

Richard
 
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hoosier_cues said:
My first cue was a Heubler. Hopefully it is under good circumstances.
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thats cool, my very first cue was a Heubler(A H-14? does that sound right?), I played with it for long enough to realize it wasnt for me, I kept it for 5 or 6 more years and finally sold it, I regretted selling it years later, now I really do. I remember going to the Casino where the Mandalay Bay sits the Hacienda, to the Heubler cup tournments in the earily 90's, i cant remember the name of the casino. I met Paul Heubler then and he was old 17 years ago, I hope he is doing good,

I dont understand why they would be closing down, wernt they more of a production shop like McDermott? not a one man show like the custom cue makers.
 
Fatboy said:
I dont understand why they would be closing down, wernt they more of a production shop like McDermott? not a one man show like the custom cue makers.
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Paul is getting old. :(
He tried to retire once, sold the shop and everything. But a combination of the deal falling through for financial reasons, and Ive heard he wasnt happy with the quality of the cues bearing his name, they werent up to his standards..... caused him to take it back over again. And no, Huebler never went for the high production end of things like mcdermott etc. He was production in the sense of having catalog cues..... but very low production in comparison.
Chuck
 
X Breaker said:
I dont know what to say. I had a Huebler, and I liked it. I think his workmanship is really nice.

John, what is American BBQ?

Richard
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:-) I guess you'll have to got to Gates in Kansas City to find out.

To me American Barbecue is the way the meat and the sauce are prepared. The meat should fall off the bone and the sauce should be be just the right mixture of sweet and sharp. There is a bunch of variety to American barbecue.

You just have to experience it. Hopefully your first experience will be at an authentic place place like Gates and with an authentic character like Paul Huebler.
 
On more thing that I will never forget about Huebler. At that same show in Kansas City Hubler created a lot of buzz because he made a set of cues, maybe about ten or so that perfectly duplicated the line of inlaid cues he was selling in minature. They were about 20" long and were perfectly scaled versions of the regular models.

The whole set was auctioned off in a sealed bid auction and I never found out how much they went for. Does anyone else remember this set of cues and anything else about them?

Paul definitely deserves a place among America's greatest cuemakers.
 
John Barton said:
:-) I guess you'll have to got to Gates in Kansas City to find out.

To me American Barbecue is the way the meat and the sauce are prepared. The meat should fall off the bone and the sauce should be be just the right mixture of sweet and sharp. There is a bunch of variety to American barbecue.

You just have to experience it. Hopefully your first experience will be at an authentic place place like Gates and with an authentic character like Paul Huebler.
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I have never been to Kansas, when I do, I will remember to give this a try.:)
I like travelling in the US, each State has its own accent, culture, and food. I really enjoy the diversity.
For example, last time in Valley Forge, my friend took me to a place called the Bahama Breeze, and I had a drink with "strawberry ice," which is something I have never heard of or tried before.
I am always looking forward to trying new food.:)
 
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I am still using a Huebler Sneaky Pete that I won in a game over 15 years ago. It is the stiffest stick I've ever seen. A friend from North Carolina measured it once and it compared favorably to the composite cues. Amazing. Hate to see this icon out of our industry.
 
The story about this cue he was going to have refinished goes something like this, A friend of mine (also az member so he can correct me if he reads this)is at a relatives or someones and he comes across this cue in a pile of trash so he takes it and comes to the poohall sometime later and ends up selling it to another friend cheap, (like less than 50 bucks cheap I think).Bob has it for about 2 years,I don't think he even played with it , and last week decides to have it redone. I get him Heublers number and then he finds out he is closing just at the time he wants it redone. So if there is a moral to this story it would be ; If your thinking of having a cue refinished by the maker do it or it might be to late.
 
I have a friend who showed Paul some goose hunting as Paul apparently liked to hunt. Paul offerred my friend some money for the hunt and my friend being the type of individual he is cordially declined his offer as that was the hospitable thing to do. About 6 months later my friend gets a custom 4 point Huebler made by Paul expressly for my friend and engraved that way in the mail. Paul has done alot to support pool through the VNEA and other organizations. I guess if you have an older Huebler it may be wise to hang on to them!
 
Many years ago, I was interested in getting a Hoppe Conversion made. I remember emailing many cue makers, including Paul Heubler. A lot of cue makers took quite a bit of them to reply, and some did not reply at all. But Heubler's shop replied very promptly. I think it was a lady called Allison who replied to my email, she was very professional, and courtesy. I was very impressed with the level of customer service she provided.

Richard
 
too bad

My first four sticks were all Hueblers, the last two being custom. I bought my first one in '77. I always felt that Hueblers were a lot of stick for the money.
I had the pleasure of speaking to Paul on several occasions. a very nice gentleman. It's a shame that the business can't be carried on.
 
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