An Inverness pool and snooker venue is anticipating one of its busiest winters ever following the closure of its nearest competitor.
Paul Mackenzie, who runs 147 Pool and Snooker Centre, took over from his parents 14 years ago.
After a successful summer, he is expecting the busiest winter in years after the closure of SoBar in April.
The Union Street firm is the oldest active leisure facility Inverness and has been run by the same family for 37 years.
147 Pool ‘battled through’ tough times
Paul said the business is continuing to grow in terms of customers and is relieved after facing tough periods.
He said: “When I first took over the business had a tough two or three years.
“The smoking ban had just come in and another pool venue had just opened up in the city centre.
“We’re up four flights of stairs – our customers were hardly delighted every time they wanted a smoke break.
“Since then we’ve been going from strength to strength. Obviously Covid was a difficult time as well but we battled through and are back being busy.”
Paul said he’s anticipating the venue to be packed over the coming months as regulars pile in for their fix.
He added: “It’s been a really busy year due to another live venue shutting. I think winter could be even busier.
“We have a team of three staff just now but I’m not sure that’ll be enough to cover so we might need to expand.”
Local interest
Local interest in pool and snooker has risen and is reflected in the amount of teams which use his tables for league matches according to Paul.
He said: “There’s a lot more interest in pool and snooker here now. More and more pool teams play here – we have five who use our tables for home matches.
“It’s amazing to see people using our venue, we even have our own darts team now.
“I’m really happy with where the business is – I think we’re pushing to our limit.”
147 Pool and Snooker Centre hosts the majority of pool competitions in Inverness alongside Chieftain Hotel.
The venue has six pool tables, seven snookers tables and two dart boards as well as a fully licensed bar.
Paul, who competes himself, is part of the team which has won the league three years running.
He added: “I get a lot of enjoyment out of hosting and playing. I’m the chairman of the Inverness Pool Association so I’m well involved to say the least.”
Customer core ‘vital’ to survival
Paul hopes his customers know how much they mean to the survival of the business over the 37 years it has been in his family.
He said: “Our customers are everything to us. We’ve built up a loyal core over the past 30 years or so and now we’re seeing them bringing in their sons and grandsons.
“It’s absolutely vital to have them here, of course we get visitors throughout the year, but these are the guys who keep us open.”
Paul has concerns over plans to pedestrianize Academy Street as many of his customers use it to access the business.
He added: “A lot of my customers, especially those in the leagues, use Academy Street to get to and from us.
“There’s nothing we can do now, but a bit of clarity over what’s happening would be helpful to me.”
Conversation