Old Image of Dingy Pool Hall Gets a Shake-Up From Brothers

The pool hall--that enduring piece of Americana--has undergone a metamorphosis at The Shark Club.

Look elsewhere for dingy back rooms, cigar-smoking gamblers, and sleepy-eyed hustlers--the trappings that can give pool halls a sleazy reputation. This is pool for a new generation complete with valet parking, dance music and a 2,000-gallon shark tank.

A little more than a year after opening for business in a building that used to house Vendome Liquor, The Shark Club is thriving as a pool room- cum -nightclub.

For the player, the room has 25 Brunswick Gold Crown III tables for rental by the hour and four coin-operated tables. The rates range from $8 an hour per table during slower times to $10 an hour on weekend nights to $40 an hour for the private, two-table Green Room.

The club offers league play three nights a week, two open tournaments each weekend and is the site of the first stop on the Southern California Amateur Ladies Nine-Ball Tour, Saturday and Sunday.

But there’s more to The Shark Club than playing pool. Owners Jon, Gregg, David and Todd Hanour have jumped aboard an upscale trend that has been traced to the 1988 opening of Jillian’s Billiard Club in Boston.

After researching more than 30 similar operations throughout the country, the Hanour brothers opted to establish the feel of a night club.

A stark, modern interior design contrasts with large Renaissance-era prints on the walls as music videos play on large and small screen televisions throughout.

Gregg Hanour, the general manager, said on typical weekend evenings only about half of those who pack the club are there to play pool. Although the wait for a table can take more than three hours, many come simply to socialize while sampling the 60-odd beers and gourmet pizza and pastas.

The brothers hope to ride out any possible downturn in the rapidly booming pool industry by being unique.

“Our plan was to transcend that by providing the services that won’t go out of style,” said Jon Hanour, who quit his job as the chief financial officer of the surf wear company Quiksilver to become The Shark Club’s business manager.

Business has been so good that the Hanours are planning to open another pool establishment in the Marketplace, across from UC Irvine.

Minnesota Fats might feel out of place at this one, too, as it will feature a sushi bar and dance floor.

The ladies nine-ball tour event will begin at noon each day at the club, which is located at 841 Baker St. Admission is free. The finals are scheduled for Sunday at 6 p.m.