Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Upscale billiards hall near restaurant row is set to open in August

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Tuesday, April 4, 2000

Upscale billiards hall near restaurant row is set to open in August

Former Silicon Valley sign maker Harrison Todd wants an upscale place to play pool in Corpus Christi. So he's building one.
   The 13,000-square-foot Paradise Pool & Billiards, at 5141 Oakhurst Drive, behind the Outback Steakhouse and Spaghetti Warehouse, opens this August and will target an older crowd.
   "It's an upscale billiards room. It's not geared to 18-to-25 year olds. " Todd said. "Upscale doesn't mean you and your colleagues have to come dressed up, but the facility is upscale. It will have an air purification system and tall ceilings to eliminate smoke problems for non-smokers. I'm a non-smoker. I play pool because I love to. But I've played in crummy, smoky places all my life."
   The facility is being built by the Moorhouse Construction Co. Todd has played pool for 35 years and was the San Jose State University champion in 1965. He's also an avid windsurfer, which is what brought him to Corpus Christi.
   "I came here six years ago for a windsurfing vacation; I've been a windsurfer for 22 years," Todd said. "I loved the town. After running my company for 28 years I was burned out on the super high-paced lifestyle in the Silicon Valley area." It took Todd two years to sell his company, San Jose-based Sign Classics Inc., which has crafted the monumental front-lawn signs for many of Silicon Valley's major players including Sun Microsystems Inc., Applied Materials, Intel Corp. and Cisco Systems. He's using some of the profits to build his billiards hall.
   But Todd isn't just the builder. He has designed the entire structure, from the building's exterior to working with carpenters on his designs for cue racks. He's an artist by nature, and is hurrying to finish several six-feet-wide paintings of record album covers from some of his favorite musicians, including Hank Williams, Pink Floyd, the Eagles, Elton John and Bob Wills.
   The billiards hall will have 30 tables and will have "the only 12-foot snooker table in South Texas," Todd said. The hall will also have a 10-foot carom table, which doesn't have pockets and is widely played in Europe, Asia and Mexico.
   The facility will also have a 22-foot shuffleboard table, electronic darts, video games, foosball, a pro shop with a Billiards Congress of America-certified instructor, a full-service bar and a restaurant, he said.
   The idea is to create an all-encompassing environment for patrons to relax and be able to focus on their game, he said.
   "Parts of the facility will be more quiet than other parts," he said. "I am 54. One of the problems older players have is there's heavy metal music everywhere. They may want to play pool but if the whole facility is like that, they get turned off." Paradise will sponsor weekly leagues, pool tournaments and one major open annually, he said.
   "I'll have world champion players coming here to do exhibitions on a regular basis," Todd said.
   Hiring for the billiards hall should begin in July, he said.




On Retailing is published every other Tuesday in the Caller-Times business section. The column includes news of new, relocated and expanded businesses in the Coastal Bend, plus retailing trends and profiles. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Tara Copp at coppt@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.

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