JEFFERSON PARK : Family Atmosphere Prevails at Pool Hall

Near the railroad tracks on a drab stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard, a bright-white restaurant topped with a sign painted in primary colors stands out like an oasis.

The open-air soul-food eatery is a cross between a traditional restaurant and a sidewalk cafe, but there’s more. Walk into the place, past the patio tables and chairs, and you enter a vast billiards room carpeted in green and filled with players and spectators of all ages and the cool strains of jazz.

What is conspicuously absent at Sportsman Family Billiards and Restaurant is alcohol and profanity, which separates Sportsman from the murky pool halls of old. The distinctly family atmosphere is something in which owner Edgar L. Palmer takes particular pride.

“We have something for everyone here,” said Palmer, a soft-spoken man who nonetheless rules his establishment with a firm hand. “Everyone is welcome as long as they follow the rules.”

The rules are simple but unfailingly enforced: No alcohol, swearing or fighting allowed. The 50-ish Palmer said that although he is frequently the only employee on the floor, he has never had a problem with customers violating his codes.

“There are so few black family-oriented places, people often come up to me and just thank me for being here,” he said. “It’s a pleasure seeing everyone accounted for--young, old, kids, teens.”

Customers milling around the 19 mahogany tables, many sipping soft drinks, seem to agree. “I love the family atmosphere here,” said George Hill, who says he heads to Sportsman regularly after a day’s work at nearby Golden State Mutual Life Insurance. “You can relax, unwind, find someone to play a game with. I look forward to it.”

Betty Stargell, seated at one of the marble-topped tables scattered around the room, said Sportsman is a prime spot to kick back. “This is only my second time here, but I really like it,” she said as her boyfriend concentrated on a game nearby. “It’s lively, but quiet enough to read a book here.”

Palmer, a former banker and real estate investor, says the idea to open a restaurant and billiards place in a black neighborhood struck him last year after attending post-riot meetings about rebuilding. “People were sitting around asking, ‘How do we get money to do things?’ ” Palmer recalled. “I said, ‘Why ask? Let’s put the money together and do something ourselves.’ ”

Palmer surveyed billiards rooms before going ahead with his business, which opened in January. “I saw family-type billiards were getting real popular,” he said. “And I thought, ‘We definitely need to strengthen black families, invest in ourselves.’ This type of place seemed perfect.”

An L.A. native, Palmer grew up frequenting Central Avenue pool halls and said he wanted to retain their cozy, neighborhood feel, minus the seedier side that made them exclusively male domains.

Sportsman’s hours accommodate day-timers and night owls alike. The business, at 3617 Crenshaw Blvd., is open 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Billiards tables rent for $5 an hour.

“I felt this would be a classic example of what black people could do if we wanted to,” Palmer said as he passed out cues behind a checkout counter. “Crenshaw should be an exemplary area, economically. Every businessman should be thinking of supporting each other.”