![]() Like his counterparts at Sequoia, Rovai, 77, blames cheap imports and the impact of the Internet. "These past two years have been the worst I've had in 40 years," he said. "That was enough to keep us going for another month or two," Gomez said.Īt Len's Billiard Supply in San Jose, owner Len Rovai said his sales are now about half of what he's averaged in past years. Gomez said he sold the customer a restored antique table for nearly $30,000. ![]() The Google guy required the classiest, fanciest pool table in the store. Not too long ago, for example, he said he received a visit from a Google employee who'd become a newly minted millionaire and simply had to have a pool table for his home.īut not just any pool table. Gomez said he relies these days on occasional sales of luxury pool tables to keep things afloat. The listing for Costco's "Venetian" table doesn't say where it's from. On the other hand, all of Sequoia's pool tables are made in America. A pool table near the counter that appears to be of similar quality to what Costco was offering sells for almost $10,000. "Try to compete with Costco," Rutledge said ruefully.Ī Google search turns up a variety of other online retailers offering what appear to be good-quality pool tables - many with free shipping - for under $2,000.Īt Sequoia's San Francisco store, Gomez said he can try to match prices like that, but it's not easy. It included an online special for a higher-end pool table - "A truly timeless masterpiece that will stand gallantly in your home for many years to come" - that normally sells for $4,299.99.Ĭostco was offering it for just $3,299.99, including shipping. "Instead, they've got their pudgy fingers on their Xboxes."Īs we spoke, she pulled out a recent flyer she'd received from Costco. "Kids just haven't gravitated to this sport," Rutledge said. With online sites like able to undercut prices by a significant margin and offer almost any title from warehoused inventory, many bookstore owners say they simply have no way to compete.īilliard-supply companies face a similar dynamic - made all the more difficult by the gradual decline of pool as an American pastime. The looming demise of Sequoia underlines the challenge faced by many small businesses at a time when people can purchase virtually anything online, usually at lower prices than at brick-and-mortar shops.īookstores are often viewed as one of the Internet's biggest victims. "But you can only fight things for so long." "We've been in business a long time," she said. Veronica Rutledge, 60, who owns Sequoia with her 62-year-old husband, Harvey, said she expects to close the company's outlets in San Francisco, San Carlos and Dublin when their respective leases expire over the next couple of years. Thanks to the Internet and cut-rate competition from cheap (and often cheaply made) overseas imports, billiard-supply retailers like Sequoia are fading quickly from the U.S. "There was a time we could sell five or six tables a week," Gomez, 45, told me. Thomas barked idly at passers-by on the sidewalk. On a recent morning, the only activity in the shop came from Gomez's little pug, Thomas, who stood near the front window beside an Imperial pool table that normally sells for $2,395 but is now going for the fire-sale price of $1,795. ![]() It's not unusual for whole days to pass without a single person walking into the store, Sequoia Billiard Supply, the last such business in the city. That is, he'd be selling them if he had any customers. Chris Stewartįrom the shop he manages on San Francisco's Howard Street, Gamaliel "Gumby" Gomez sells pool tables, cues, balls, racks, chalk and just about anything else you might need for what was once known among kings and commoners alike as the "noble game of billiards." Gamaliel &quo Gumby&quo Gomez has his eye on the ball at Sequoia Billiard Supply in San Francisco, while Thomas the pug keeps an eye on the camera. Chris Stewart / San Francisco Chronicle Camaliel "Gumby" Gomez, Sequoia Billiard Supply Ran on: 04-22-2007 According to Gomez, who manages the shop, the business is challenged by competition from online retailers. Thomas (cq) the pug watches as Camaliel "Gumby" Gomez (cq) plays pool at Sequoia Billiard Supply, 977 Howard Street in San Francisco. Facebook Twitter Email lazarus22_0044_cs.jpg Event on 4/19/07 in San Francisco.
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