Opening New Pool Room

[hig3]

Need help. Am considering opening a new 20+ table non alcohol/non smoking pool room in the southeast. Please post advice. We are just off a major interstate highway, near a huge military base, and right on the coast. Population base between 50,000 to 60,000 people currently. Quite a bit of tourist activity, area is growing fast with new home sales going wild. Most of all, no competition.
Plan to have retail pool table and billiard equipment sales. The facility is 10,500 sq.ft. with 8,000 sq. ft. open area, a stand alone building, with very low overhead in a highly traveled part of town.
Looking for input from pool players, room owners, and anyone associated with the billiard industry.
Research shows non alcohol/non smoking establishments are in the very low minority in our sport, but seem to be coming more popular.
Thanks in advance in your help in this manner.
Please Post

 

[Purdman]

Need help. Am considering opening a new 20+ table non alcohol/non smoking pool room in the southeast. Please post advice. We are just off a major interstate highway, near a huge military base, and right on the coast. Population base between 50,000 to 60,000 people currently. Quite a bit of tourist activity, area is growing fast with new home sales going wild. Most of all, no competition.
Plan to have retail pool table and billiard equipment sales. The facility is 10,500 sq.ft. with 8,000 sq. ft. open area, a stand alone building, with very low overhead in a highly traveled part of town.
Looking for input from pool players, room owners, and anyone associated with the billiard industry.
Research shows non alcohol/non smoking establishments are in the very low minority in our sport, but seem to be coming more popular.
Thanks in advance in your help in this manner.
Please Post

I like your idea but the fact is, 99% of non drinking and non smoking pool halls don't work. Maybe a small non smoking area. I think most sucessful halls make it on food and drinks. Good luck!!! Let us know how it turns out.
Purdman

 

[azbicyclis85376]

I like your idea but the fact is, 99% of non drinking and non smoking pool halls don't work. Maybe a small non smoking area. I think most sucessful halls make it on food and drinks. Good luck!!! Let us know how it turns out.
Purdman

Having been in business for years, and know the pride of ownership. If I was going to open a Pool Room as you describe, I would hire a Business Consultant to help you decide if you plans was feasible.

From what I see in the area where I live, having a Pool Room, that is Profitable is a tough nut to crack.

Also I think you need to serve Beer, and Wine at a minimum. Plus have a small grill to do Hamburgers, Chips, Hot Dogs, and maybe a few house specials.

Than consider having a Pro Shop to sell Cues, and accessories. Plus do repairs, etc.

Bottom line is you will be making a major investment in time & money, plus signing your life away with a Lease, or Rental Agreement.

So you need to have a realistic return on your time, and investment. Business Consultants can and will give you a realistic picture of what you can expect in return.

 

[Doctor_D]

Need help. Am considering opening a new 20+ table non alcohol/non smoking pool room in the southeast. Please post advice. We are just off a major interstate highway, near a huge military base, and right on the coast. Population base between 50,000 to 60,000 people currently. Quite a bit of tourist activity, area is growing fast with new home sales going wild. Most of all, no competition.
Plan to have retail pool table and billiard equipment sales. The facility is 10,500 sq.ft. with 8,000 sq. ft. open area, a stand alone building, with very low overhead in a highly traveled part of town.
Looking for input from pool players, room owners, and anyone associated with the billiard industry.
Research shows non alcohol/non smoking establishments are in the very low minority in our sport, but seem to be coming more popular.
Thanks in advance in your help in this manner.
Please Post

Good evening:

Find yourself a qualified business operations and financial consultant, not a financial planner, with experience working with a variety of businesses. Your business plan; and most importantly your budget, forecast and revenue model dynamically linked to a viable marketing plan, will be key to a successfull and profitable operation. Know your overhead. Know your expenses. Know your revenue (sales) requirements to "break even". Know your customers. Know your market; geographical and demographical. And, most importantly, KNOW your business.

Dr. D.

 

[DeadPoked]

I am in the military and I am not sure if a non-smoking/non-alcohol poolhall will work. Especially if the military will be your primary customers. I know it will be really tough during the summer time with just table time paying the bills. Anyways good luck with your business.

 

[catscradle]

Need help. Am considering opening a new 20+ table non alcohol/non smoking pool room in the southeast. Please post advice. We are just off a major interstate highway, near a huge military base, and right on the coast. Population base between 50,000 to 60,000 people currently. Quite a bit of tourist activity, area is growing fast with new home sales going wild. Most of all, no competition.
Plan to have retail pool table and billiard equipment sales. The facility is 10,500 sq.ft. with 8,000 sq. ft. open area, a stand alone building, with very low overhead in a highly traveled part of town.
Looking for input from pool players, room owners, and anyone associated with the billiard industry.
Research shows non alcohol/non smoking establishments are in the very low minority in our sport, but seem to be coming more popular.
Thanks in advance in your help in this manner.
Please Post

A non-smoking room is a tough nut to crack in an state where smoking is allowed. As a non-smoker I think that is because non-smokers either go along with there friends to a smoking establishment or ignore the sport all together because of the smokers. I know I quit bowling because of the smokers, and I've almost quit pool several times, but enjoy it too much. I think there are an awful lot of active pool players who smoke. If you're going to make it with a non-smoking establishment, you're going to have to attract new players to the game who don't smoke. The smokers won't come if they have an alternative and their friends will probably continue to put up with the smoke to hang with them. To add to your woes if your place is non-alcoholic you'll be somewhat dependent upon younger people, who as far as I can tell smoke like chimneys.
As a relevant sidenote, a friend of mine co-manages a room which has a smoking section and a non-smoking section (until a recent state-wide ban that is). They collected statistics and found that although the non-smoking section drew more people, the people in the smoking section stayed longer, were the "regulars", and as a consequence brought more revenue into the place.
I wish you the best of luck. As a non-drinker, non-smoker (actuall ex- of both) want to see you and many more like you succeed, but you should go into it with your eyes open.

 

[drivermaker]

And last but not least is, what are the restrictions, zoning requirements, and licensing fees attached to a pool room in that particular location, alcohol/smoking or not. Some counties and towns are so highly restrictive of pool rooms that if you do get approval you might be so far out in the boondocks that you'll never see the kind of traffic you need to make it profitable.

 

[JPB]

Yeah, a few years ago they opened one like that in my town. Which is a bit smaller than your town, but has some similar characteristics. Man it was a nice room. All gold crowns, Earl did an exhibition to publicize the room, it was really a good place to play. I think they lasted 6 months.


BCA sells a book for potential room owners. Buy it. One room owner told me the book suggests a population of 1 million. He is in an area smalle rthan that, but said they'd go broke w/ out beer I think. That's the nicest room in a bigger town than yours. GL tho.