How much does a Pool Hall / Billiards Venue cost to buy?

A typical Pool Hall / Billiards Venue sells for 1.5x to 3x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $68K, expect to pay roughly $103K to $205K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Pool Hall / Billiards Venue?

Startup costs range from $60K to $250K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Physical

Pool Hall / Billiards Venue

Q: What are the profit margins for a Pool Hall / Billiards Venue?

The average profit margin for a Pool Hall / Billiards Venue is around 18%. Key costs: rent (typically $3K–$12K/month), staff (2–4 per shift), liquor license, billiard table maintenance (~$300–$500/table/year for re-felting), cues and chalk, and POS/booking software. COGS on beverages runs 20–30%. Table revenue is near 100% gross margin.

Table rental + beer = 43% profit margins, no food prep required

Bottom line

Worth studying, but do not buy without strong local proof.

Pool halls charge by the hour or half-hour for table time, typically $10–$20/table/hour, supplemented by alcohol and non-alcoholic beverage sales. The global billiard hall industry is valued at $673M (2023) with steady 2.8% annual growth. What makes pool halls financially interesting: table rental revenue is nearly pure margin once rent and labor are covered, and alcohol sales — which require no kitchen — can double the per-customer spend. A well-run venue earns 10–20% net profit on $200K–$600K in annual revenue, with stronger venues in dense markets clearing $1M+.

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Acquisition score

Strong

Avg Revenue

$380K

Profit Margin

18%

Acquisition Multiple

1.5x - 3x

Startup Cost

$60K - $250K

How It Works

Revenue streams: table time (hourly or per-game), beverage sales (alcohol and non-alcoholic), equipment rentals (cues, chalk), pool leagues (weekly recurring revenue), and tournaments. The key variable is utilization — how many of your tables are occupied per hour of operation. Weekends and evenings drive 60–70% of revenue. Pool leagues are a retention machine: they lock in recurring weekly visits from teams of 4–8 players.

Revenue Range

Low End

$180K

Typical

$380K

High End

$900K

BizBite underwriting snapshot

Pass for now

Pool Hall / Billiards Venue has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

Speculative / 100

Data confidence

medium

52/100

Financing fit

medium

Category-level fit before lender-specific diligence.

Confidence cap

Weak source data caps the final score.

Why it may work

+SBA dataset shows 66 recent comparable loans

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No category operating model yet
!No category model yet

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 713990 · All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries

Deals tracked

141

66 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$603K

$233K–$1.6M p25/p75

Implied deal size

$709K

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

$500K–1M

$1M–2M

>$2M

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

-11.4%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

+12.9%

31 recent · 35 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

9.50%

15% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

120 mo

standard 10-yr

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

Live Oak Banking Company10

The Huntington National Bank9

Northwest Bank6

Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company4

First Internet Bank of Indiana4

Where deals happen

TX12

MN9

OH7

GA6

NJ6

MI6

PA5

CO5

WA5

IN5

Franchise vs independent

Franchised acquisitions finance at $854K median vs $506K for independents — a +69% franchise premium. Franchises make up 23% of deals tracked.

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Mar 2026	NJ	$350K	$412K	—	—
Mar 2026	PA	$335K	$394K	8	—
Feb 2026	CO	$970K	$1.1M	—	—
Jan 2026	NJ	$3.9M	$4.6M	—	—
Jan 2026	MI	$4.6M	$5.4M	8	—
Jan 2026	NJ	$5.0M	$5.9M	70	—
Jan 2026	IL	$60K	$71K	2	—
Jan 2026	AZ	$5.0M	$5.9M	126	—
Jan 2026	PA	$567K	$667K	3	Altitude Trampoline Park
Jan 2026	KY	$483K	$569K	10	—

Volume rank #55/544Deal-size rank #323/544Momentum rank #215p90 loan: $2.8MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+No kitchen required — bar service only keeps overhead lean
+Pool leagues create sticky recurring revenue streams
+Relatively low startup cost compared to other hospitality venues
+Attractive acquisition multiples — many owners underprice aging venues

Cons

-Nighttime/weekend concentration means daytime hours generate little revenue
-Liquor license costs and compliance vary significantly by state/city
-Table maintenance (re-felting, cushion replacement) is an ongoing cost
-Gentrification and demographic shifts can gut a neighborhood pool hall's customer base

Best For

Community-oriented operators with hospitality or bar management experience in working-class or college-town markets

Operating Costs

Key costs: rent (typically $3K–$12K/month), staff (2–4 per shift), liquor license, billiard table maintenance (~$300–$500/table/year for re-felting), cues and chalk, and POS/booking software. COGS on beverages runs 20–30%. Table revenue is near 100% gross margin.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

$-2109/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $710K

Range: $380K (1.5×) to $1.5M (3×+)

Down payment — 15% ($107K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 9.50%

SBA median for this category: 9.5%

Loan term — 10 years (120 mo)

SBA median for this category: 120 months

Down payment

$107K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$604K

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$8K/mo

$334K total interest

Monthly profit

$6K/mo

at 18% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

$-2109/mo

Margin does not cover debt service at these terms. Lower the deal price, increase the down payment, or extend the loan term.

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.