The Pool Hall And Bar Market in 2026

The global billiard halls market was valued at roughly $4.8 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $7.9 billion by 2034, growing at about a 5.7% compound annual rate (DataIntelo, 2025). That is steadier than most hospitality categories, and the reason is structural: a pool room sells time on a fixed asset, and a bar sells margin on top of that time. The two reinforce each other.

In the United States there are more than 28,000 commercial pool venues, from dedicated billiard halls to sports bars and family entertainment centres, and the commercial pool-hall segment alone turns over in excess of $900 million a year (DataIntelo, 2025). Equipment is a separate, slower market: US billiards and accessories sales were about $89.3 million in 2024 and are forecast to reach $110.7 million by 2033 (Grand View Research, 2024). For a business plan, the useful read is that hardware demand is flat while the venue experience is what grows.

Who actually walks through the door

Older guides reduce the audience to "men under 35", and that segment does carry weekday afternoons. But a pool hall and bar that wants the margin in the bar has to broaden the room. The buyers worth planning around are: after-work drinkers who play two or three frames and stay for the bar; league and tournament players who book regular table time and bring guaranteed weeknight covers; date-night and group bookings that spend heavily on food and cocktails; and private-event clients who buy the whole floor. Each segment values something different, and the plan should say which one fills which day-part.

The named rooms that get this right are instructive. Amsterdam Billiards & Bar in New York, founded in 1989 with 25 Brunswick tables, and Society Billiards + Bar in the Flatiron district with 19 Diamond tables and two bars, both built reputations on the bar-and-room blend rather than cheap table time. In the UK, the Rileys chain peaked at 165 sites by leaning on a sports-bar format around the tables. Your plan does not need their scale, but it should borrow their logic: the table draws the customer in, the bar keeps them there.

A plan that quantifies which segment fills which day-part, and what each spends at the bar, gives a lender a far clearer picture than a generic "we will attract pool players" claim. The competitive read for most local markets is that the direct rivals are not other dedicated pool rooms, which are scarce, but sports bars and family entertainment centres that offer a couple of tables as a sideline. A purpose-built pool hall and bar wins by being the credible room for serious play while still being a genuine bar, a position the casual two-table sports bar cannot hold and the bar-free hall cannot fund.

Questions Buyers Ask Before They Open

These are the questions that surface most often when founders research a pool hall and bar. Short, numbers-first answers, with the detail built out in the sections below.

What It Costs to Open the Doors

Opening a pool hall and bar typically takes $150,000 to $670,000 (roughly £115,000 to £520,000), and the spread is wider than most hospitality categories because two fit-outs sit under one roof. The room needs tournament-grade tables, proper lighting and a hard-wearing floor; the bar needs refrigeration, a draught system, glassware and a licence. One published model puts upfront capital expenditure for tables and leasehold improvements at about $445,000 with another $75,000 in working capital, totalling near $670,000 for a full-scale launch.

Where the money goes

• Tournament-grade tables, cues, racks and lighting: $120K–$150K (£93K–£115K). New 9-foot tables run $3,000–$4,000 each and last about 25 years with care.
• Space renovation and fit-out: $60K–$150K (£47K–£115K). Levelling for tables, lighting drops, flooring and sound.
• Full bar build, refrigeration and glassware: $40K–$90K (£31K–£70K).
• Liquor licence or UK premises licence: $125–$300,000 in US quota states; £100–£1,905 in the UK by NNDR band.
• Opening bar and kitchen inventory plus working capital: around $75K (£58K) to cover staff, stock and utilities to stabilisation.
• Marketing and grand opening: $25K–$75K (£19K–£58K).

Funding routes

In the US, the SBA 7(a) loan (up to $5M) is the workhorse for a venue of this size, alongside equipment financing for the tables and bar kit. In the UK, the government-backed Start Up Loan (up to £25,000 per founder at 6% fixed) is rarely enough alone, so most founders pair it with a commercial mortgage or asset-finance facility against the tables and bar equipment. The mistake to avoid is funding the room and starving the bar; lenders want to see both halves capitalised because the bar is what services the debt.

Tables, Bar & Equipment Checklist

This is the kit a 12-table pool hall and bar buys before opening, with realistic price ranges. Tables and the bar system are the two line items worth spending on; everything else can flex.

• 9-foot tournament tables (x12): $3,000–$4,000 each. Brunswick and Diamond are the reference brands; Diamond is the league standard.
• House cues, bridges, racks and ball sets: $4,000–$8,000 across the floor, plus a managed rental wall.
• Overhead table lighting: $200–$500 per table; non-negotiable for play quality and the room's look.
• Recovering and levelling service: budget annual cloth replacement at $150–$300 per table.
• Draught beer system and back-bar refrigeration: $15,000–$35,000 depending on tap count.
• Bar build, glassware and ice machine: $20,000–$50,000.
• Point-of-sale with table-timing module: Toast and Square both handle timed-rental billing; $3,000–$10,000 installed.
• Kitchen line (if serving food): $25,000–$60,000 for a compact bar-food kitchen.
• CCTV, sound and digital scoreboards: $5,000–$15,000.

A useful sourcing note: buying two or three reconditioned tables to test demand before committing to a full floor is a common way to bring the lean-launch figure down toward $150,000 without compromising the bar, which is where the return lives.

Where the Money Comes From

A pool hall and bar earns from table time, the bar and kitchen, and a long tail of events, memberships and coaching. The number most first-time operators miss is that the bar is not a side line. Adding a full bar to a dry hall commonly lifts total revenue by 100% to 200%, and because bar gross margin sits near 75–80%, the bar carries most of the net profit even when table time fills the room.

The revenue streams in order of importance

• Table time: $6–$10/hr for eight-ball, $8–$15/hr for snooker, with weekend rates at the top of each band.
• Bar and kitchen: the margin engine; plan for it to match or exceed table revenue.
• Memberships: roughly $50/month or $500/year for regulars, smoothing weekday demand.
• Coaching and clinics: about $30/hour one-to-one, $80 for a 1.5-hour group session.
• Leagues, tournaments and private hire: guaranteed covers and full-floor buyouts on otherwise quiet nights.

A worked example

Take a 12-table room open 70 hours a week. At 45% table utilisation and a blended $11 rate, the tables turn over roughly $216,000 a year. A bar that matches the floor adds another $216,000-plus, and a strong room doubles it. That takes a combined pool hall and bar into the $430,000–$650,000 revenue range. With table-time margins thin and bar margins near 75%, the blended net lands in the 5–20% band cited across the industry, so a realistic Year 1 net on $520,000 of revenue is in the $45,000–$80,000 region before the owner scales utilisation. The lever that moves this most is not table count; it is the bar attach rate per playing customer.

SBA & Lender Funding for the Room

A pool hall and bar in the US falls under NAICS 713990 (all other amusement and recreation industries) when it leads with the tables, or the drinking-places code NAICS 722410 when the bar dominates. Either way the financing reality is the same: this is a capital-heavy, asset-backed venue, which is exactly what the SBA 7(a) programme is built for.

• SBA 7(a) ceiling: up to $5M, with most pool-and-bar deals landing in the $150K–$600K range that matches the startup spread above.
• What lenders underwrite: the tables and bar equipment are collateral, so a 7(a) lender will lean on a combined P&L that shows the bar servicing the debt, not table time alone.
• Down payment: expect 10–20% equity injection; a founder putting in $30K–$50K on a $185K ask reads as committed.
• Equipment financing: tables and draught systems are easy to finance separately, freeing the 7(a) for fit-out and working capital.

In the UK, the government-backed Start Up Loan tops out at £25,000 per founder, so two co-founders can stack to £50,000, but a venue at this scale almost always needs a commercial lender or asset finance on top. The plan a UK bank wants mirrors the SBA one: a dual-engine P&L proving the bar covers the repayments.

Licensing & Legal Requirements

A pool hall and bar carries two layers of licensing the dry-hall guides skip: the alcohol licence and, in many places, a per-table amusement-device licence. These vary sharply by jurisdiction and the alcohol licence is usually the longest lead-time item in the whole launch.

United States

• State liquor licence (on-premise): issued by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) board. Cost runs from as little as $125 to over $40,000, and in quota states a transferable on-premise licence can reach $300,000. Allow 30–180 days.
• Pool table / amusement-device licence: many cities and counties charge around $100 per table for public-use tables; check the local clerk's office.
• Food service permit, occupancy and fire inspection: health department plus fire marshal sign-off before opening.
• EIN, sales-tax permit and workers' compensation insurance.

United Kingdom

• Premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003: covers alcohol sales, regulated entertainment and late-night refreshment between 23:00 and 05:00. Application fees run £100–£1,905 depending on the premises NNDR band, with a minimum 28-day consultation period.
• Personal licence and Designated Premises Supervisor: at least one named DPS holding a personal licence (around £37 plus the APLH qualification).
• Food business registration and Level 2 Food Hygiene: register with the local authority at least 28 days before trading.
• Note: you do not need a licence simply to run pool or snooker tables in the UK, but the moment you sell alcohol or host ticketed events the premises licence applies.

Canada

• Provincial liquor licence (for example the AGCO in Ontario) for on-premise alcohol sales.
• Municipal business licence plus, in some cities, a billiard or amusement-room bylaw permit tied to table count.
• Federal business number from the CRA and provincial workers' compensation coverage (WSIB in Ontario).

Mistakes That Sink Pool Rooms

The failures in this category are predictable, and almost all of them come from treating a pool hall and bar like a pool hall with drinks rather than a bar with tables.

• Modelling a dry-hall P&L. Half to two-thirds of combined revenue and most of the margin sit in the bar. A plan built on table time alone understates revenue and overstates the floor space you need.
• Underestimating the liquor licence. In a quota state the licence can cost more than the tables and take six months. Founders who file late open without alcohol, which guts the model.
• Flat table pricing. Charging the same for an eight-ball table on a dead Tuesday and a snooker table on Friday night leaves money on the floor. Tier by table type and day-part.
• Planning to run it solo. Quality service on the floor and behind the bar needs staff from day one; a single owner cannot rack, pour and clear at once.
• No utilisation target. Without a table-hours-per-week goal, the owner cannot tell a healthy night from a quiet one until the cash runs out.

Running the Floor and the Bar

Operations are where a pool hall and bar either holds its margin or leaks it. The plan should describe two distinct teams working one room: a floor operation that racks, manages table assignments, maintains cloth and equipment, and runs leagues; and a bar operation that pours, restocks, controls cost of goods and drives the spend-per-head that funds the whole venue. Treating them as one undifferentiated "staff" line is the most common reason these venues miss their labour budget.

Day-part planning

A pool room's demand is not flat across the week, and the staffing model has to follow it. Weekday afternoons are quiet table-only trade; weeknights belong to leagues and regulars; weekends are when the bar earns its keep. Mapping staff and pricing to those day-parts is the single biggest operational lever on net margin.

Year-one operating priorities

• Set a table-utilisation target (a 45% blended rate across a 70-hour week is a realistic Year-1 goal) and report it weekly.
• Track bar attach rate, the share of playing customers who also spend at the bar, because that single number decides whether the venue clears its fixed costs.
• Schedule cloth recovering and table levelling on a fixed cycle so play quality never drives regulars away.
• Run cost-of-goods discipline on the bar from week one; a 75-80% gross margin only holds with tight pour control and stock-take.
• Build a league and tournament calendar before opening so weeknight covers are booked, not hoped for.

For most pool halls and bars, the gap between an average operator and a strong one comes down to bar attach rate, table turnover on weekend peaks, and how fast the owner spots a soft night and reacts. The plan should name the manager, the head bartender and the league organiser, even if one founder wears two of those hats at launch.

Filling the Tables: Sales & Marketing

A pool hall and bar lives or dies on local demand, so the marketing plan should read like a neighbourhood plan, not a national one. The job is to fill weeknights with committed players and weekends with groups, then convert both into bar spend. The channels that actually move covers for this venue are specific.

• Leagues and tournaments: the single most powerful acquisition channel. A weekly league guarantees the same players, the same covers and a built-in social calendar. Operators like the UK's Rileys chain built their weeknight base entirely on organised play, and a new room can copy the format from week one.
• Local search and maps: people searching "pool hall near me" or "bar with pool tables" are high-intent. A complete Google Business Profile with table count, hours and the bar menu wins that click.
• Memberships and loyalty: a $50/month membership turns occasional players into weekly regulars and smooths the quiet day-parts.
• Private hire and group events: corporate nights, birthdays and date-night packages are where the bar margin spikes; package them explicitly.
• Social proof: the named upscale rooms, Amsterdam Billiards and Society Billiards in New York, market the room as a night out rather than a cheap hour of pool. The photography and the cocktail list do the selling.

The plan should connect each channel to a cost of acquisition and a repeat rate, because a pool hall and bar is a repeat-visit business. A member who comes weekly and buys two drinks a visit is worth far more than a one-off walk-in, and the marketing budget should be weighted toward the channels that produce regulars, not foot traffic that never returns.

Pool Hall And Bar Terms Lenders Will Expect You to Know

• Table utilisation: the share of available table-hours actually sold. The core capacity metric for the floor.
• Bar attach rate: the percentage of playing customers who also spend at the bar. The number that decides net margin.
• Blended table rate: the average of eight-ball and snooker rates across weekday and weekend pricing.
• Recovering: replacing the worn cloth on a table, a recurring maintenance cost of $150-$300 per table.
• Day-part: a defined block of trading hours (weekday daytime, weeknight, weekend) with its own demand and staffing.
• Quota state: a US state that caps the number of liquor licences, pushing transferable licence prices into the tens or hundreds of thousands.
• DPS: the Designated Premises Supervisor named on a UK premises licence and responsible for alcohol sales.

A Realistic Launch Timeline

From signed lease to opening night, a pool hall and bar usually takes six to nine months, and the alcohol licence is almost always the critical path. Founders who file the licence application late open dry, which removes the profit engine and is the fastest way to run out of cash. The sequence below assumes a mid-range, 12-table venue.

• Months 1–2 — Plan and licence: finalise the business plan and financial model, sign the lease, and file the liquor or premises licence application immediately, since it carries the longest lead time.
• Months 2–4 — Build and fit-out: floor levelling, lighting, bar build, refrigeration and kitchen line. Order tables early; tournament-grade tables can carry a long delivery window.
• Months 4–5 — Install and fit: tables delivered, levelled and clothed; point-of-sale with table-timing module installed and tested; bar stocked.
• Month 5 — Hire and train: recruit the floor host, bar team and a league organiser; run a friends-and-family soft opening to test service flow.
• Month 6 — Grand opening and first league night: launch with a booked league calendar so the first weeknights are not empty.

The discipline that matters here is sequencing the licence first and the tables second. Everything else can flex, but a venue cannot pour without the licence and cannot trade as a pool room without the tables on the floor, so those two long-lead items anchor the schedule.

Framing the Funding Ask

When a pool hall and bar goes to a lender or an investor, the pitch should be built around the dual-engine logic rather than a love of the game. A simple structure that works: state the room concept and location, the size of the local market and the gap in it, the combined revenue model with the bar attach rate spelled out, the funding ask and what it buys, and the repayment or return path. A founder who can say "the tables draw the customer and the bar carries the margin, and here is the attach rate that proves it" is answering the exact question a lender is going to ask.

The funding ask itself should map cleanly to the startup-cost breakdown. For the $185,000 mid-range raise used throughout this page, that means tables and equipment financed separately where possible, fit-out and bar build funded by the core loan, and a working-capital reserve sized to carry the venue to break-even around month 17. Showing the reserve explicitly, rather than assuming profitability from month one, is what separates a plan a bank funds from one it declines.

Sample Business Plan Preview

This is the structure and the financial outputs a buyer receives. The mockups below are generated from the same dual-engine assumptions used throughout this page.

What's in the Template

Every Avvale business plan template is pre-structured for your industry. The pool hall and bar version is built around the dual-engine model so the bar and the floor each get their own section:

• Executive Summary — the venue at a glance, written to hook a lender in 60 seconds
• Company Overview — legal structure, ownership, location and the room concept
• Market Analysis — local demand, day-part mapping and the billiard-halls growth data
• Customer Analysis — league players, after-work drinkers, date-night and private-event segments
• Competitor Analysis — mapping nearby rooms, sports bars and entertainment centres
• Marketing Plan — leagues, local search, events and the loyalty programme
• Operations Plan — floor and bar staffing, table maintenance, utilisation targets
• Management Team — founder bios, key hires and advisers

The optional Financial Forecast add-on (included in our $300/£250 and $1,000/£800 packages) provides a 5-year Excel model with a split table-versus-bar revenue build, income statement, cash flow, balance sheet, break-even analysis and the startup capital table lenders ask for. You can also browse our full library of free business plan templates or read about how our business plan writers approach a hospitality venue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Templates & Resources

If a pool hall and bar is one of several concepts you are weighing, these neighbouring guides cover the adjacent venue models and the wider template library.

• Sports Bar Business Plan Template
• Market research & content for your plan
• Bespoke done-for-you business plan
• Avvale on LinkedIn