You'll need lots of bar tables that are in poor condition and some big speakers to play some acid rock while the straight pool and One Pocket players try to enjoy a peaceful day. Have some RAP music CDs on hand and be willing to crank it up.
Is the demise of brick and mortar retail...
- Thread starter PhilosopherKing
- Start date
The problem.....
If you don't own the building, fuggeddaboutit!!!! The rents are ridiculous, and it doesn't take much for you to work for the landlord. Most profitable rooms are in a building that's owner occupied. Pretty much the only way to do it and make money without giving it all way. S
If you don't own the building, fuggeddaboutit!!!! The rents are ridiculous, and it doesn't take much for you to work for the landlord. Most profitable rooms are in a building that's owner occupied. Pretty much the only way to do it and make money without giving it all way. S
Very possible. My friend is looking for such a place right now. Property purchase offers of 30% - 50% below asking price are being considered in our area for commercial properties on the market for a year or two.
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And yet Boston Billiards and Brighton Billiards have closed, and the 24 hr bowling place that used to be a good center of action is pretty much empty of pool players. Jillians by Fenway is still going but the number of real players that go there, last few times I was there, could be counted on the fingers of a one armed person. I don't know of any place in Boston anymore that caters to players.
My main pool hall I got to in Ayer, MA has the building owned by the person running the room, but his is fairly unique in almost the whole country that I have seen, it's comfortable for players and for casual people, has a ton of parties, groups, fundraisers, there is no age or sex limitations there, you can see an 8 yr old girl playing as easily as a group of retired men mixing in with a 20 something crowd of race car drivers.
Savannah is a fairly large metro area, many many people live and commute here daily.
We had lots of pool halls a while ago. Then it was down to one. Then, that one closed a couple years ago.
Now the closest one is about a 40 minute drive (not far I know but that one isn't great) but absolutely nothing in the city and surrounding area, besides bars and bar boxes. Not a nine foot for miles and miles! And the nine foots you come across miles later, make me want to get in the car and drive further away!
As bad as some of us want a pool hall here, the pool players and people in the area just can't support a room enough to keep the doors open for some reason.
There's spaces all over the place in Savannah, to rent and buy. Big enough for big rooms, but I'm fairly certain we won't see it coming any time soon.
We had lots of pool halls a while ago. Then it was down to one. Then, that one closed a couple years ago.
Now the closest one is about a 40 minute drive (not far I know but that one isn't great) but absolutely nothing in the city and surrounding area, besides bars and bar boxes. Not a nine foot for miles and miles! And the nine foots you come across miles later, make me want to get in the car and drive further away!
As bad as some of us want a pool hall here, the pool players and people in the area just can't support a room enough to keep the doors open for some reason.
There's spaces all over the place in Savannah, to rent and buy. Big enough for big rooms, but I'm fairly certain we won't see it coming any time soon.
That is very sad to hear.
Our town just opened its 3rd pool hall. Not a real pool hall, but a tables sales place that has established a monthly membership fee (i think it's $65) to play on their display tables 24/7, byob. It just opened, so no data to speak of.
Dog's has about 40 tables, The Rack has 16 or so and now about 5 of these other new tables. That's about 60 tables in town for rent. Last night, Dog's was full with leagues and other players.
Des Moines has, last time I counted, over 15 different leagues going on and that helps, for sure. The competition is getting pretty strong around here, I'd say.
Jeff Livingston
Well it was a lot of things primarily the managements inability to make things work and too large a place with no buffer for slow times.
At one point there was 200 to 220 APA players in there over 3 days. They spent about 5 bucks extra a piece. Management could have fixed that but they wouldn't scared they would leave and they were barely hanging on. Every good thing they did was followed up a oh shit moment where the owner did something to counter act it .
Also he geared his business toward ApA cities events and when it came time he didnt get compensated for it and couldnt tell them to hit the highway because he was over a barrel financially. Myself and others tried to help but it just didnt work. Such a shame. I learned a lot about the Pool Business, not the business I want to be in,
too much work for so few dollars in the demographics spending budget.
it's unclear why your first two examples closed their doors... brighton, not really being relevant to what i'm talking about.
someone who's equally pool and business savvy could make a large-scale room work in a city like somerville, probably even thrive. everything is there: tons of young progressive money, college students, public transportation, vacant or soon to be vacant retail space just a stone's throw away from the new wynn casino that's going up.
you don't cater to the players, you cater to the money, and then you create a new breed of players.
