After eight years of minor renovations and small cosmetic improvements, the timing for a major overhaul on Boston Billiard Club, host of the Brunswick Cues Boston Classic, couldn't have come at a better time.
With the Womens Professional Billiards Association invading the Fenway poolroom through the 26th of April, the time to introduce old and new guests to the upgrades was apparently now. "The place was getting a little shopworn," said Howard Schoer, co-owner of the Boston Billiard Club chain, which runs six rooms in New England. "We needed a new infusion. Business was still good and we said, 'Let's do it before business takes a downturn.' "
Specifically, the front entryway, which used to be a non-descript hallway, now features an elegant control desk that handles the pool, and straight in front of the doors is the bar. Before the renovation, the bar used to be hidden from passersby.
"We wanted to give the bar a new identity," said Schoer. "We always did a significant bar business, but we never had a significant bar." Now the bar wraps around the front of the room and curls to face the playing area.
Schoer and partner Jim Singelman also commissioned an upgrade in the café area, as well as some "funked up" furniture modifications in the VIP room.
Also representing Boston Billiard Club is Kristin Reay, a staffer at the Fairfield, Conn., Boston Billiard Club. Although she got pummeled in her first match to Canadian Anita Kuczma, 9-0, the 18-year-old Connecticut native was locked in a fight with another Canadian, Kathie MacDonald at the time of this posting.
Results of her match and other late contests will be posted tomorrow.
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