Game shop specializes in family fun

If there ever were a consumer market suited for a particular businesses' products and services, that integration exists between The Woodlands and Billiard Factory. With The Woodlands market featuring homes often large enough to include game rooms, along with families wanting to play table-style games, Billiard Factory's growth has mirrored that of its owners' hometown.

"The Woodlands has more of a concentration of families," said owner Ryan Stick. "We need a game room in the house."

The Stick family moved to The Woodlands in 1984, just 10 years after the master-planned community first opened. About a decade later, Larry Stick opened The Woodlands location of Billiard Factory at 26419 I-45 N.

"Back then [The Woodlands] really was not what it is today, but you could see that it was taking off," said Ryan Stick, Larry's son and part owner. Stick, a 1994 graduate of McCullough High School, helped take over the family business after his father retired in 2000.

He runs The Woodlands location of Billiard Factory along with associates Dale Wilke and Rob Quarantello.

There are now 11 Billiard Factory locations in three states, including one in Las Vegas, one in Jacksonville, Fla., three in Dallas, one each in Austin and San Antonio, and four in Houston.

Although the company may have outgrown its single original location, its roots are still firmly entrenched in The Woodlands.

"My father still lives here, I live here and my family spends the majority of our time here," Stick said. "We have some pretty strong Woodlands ties."

Billiard Factory's stock-in-trade is its selection of pool tables, where the company offers some of the most recognizable and well-made tables on the market, including brands such as Brunswick and Olhausen. Customers can choose from dozens of varieties, styles and designs of tables, and there are options for every budget. Pool tables at Billiard Factory range in cost from about $1,700 up to nearly $50,000, with seemingly countless colors, styles, designs and features among the different selections.

One of the company's emerging markets, Stick said, is shuffleboards.

"Shuffleboard has been very popular, one of the most popular in the past few years," he said. "People remember playing it when they were young and maybe now can afford [to buy a table]."

The store's inventory of shuffleboards features tables from 9 to 22 feet, and costing about $1,500 to $6,000.

Billiard Factory also offers foosball tables, air hockey tables, arcade games, ping pong tables and pinball machines. Its array of accessories are seemingly endless: pool cues, pool balls, felts, racks, gloves, cases, chalk holders, table covers and scoring boards.

In recent years, the Stick family has ventured into offering a large selection of bar stools, game room artwork, theater seating, pub tables and even lighting. Stick said the company has recently partnered with Signature Home Theater to sell high-definition televisions and home theater systems.

Games People Play

Table games available for purchase at Billiard Factory

• Pool
• Air hockey
• Arcade games
• Foosball
• Pinball
• Shuffleboard
• Table tennis
• Darts
• Dominos
• Classic board games

The Name of the Game

Types of billiard games

• 8-Ball
• 9-Ball
• 14.1 Continuous
• One Pocket
• Snooker
• Zoneball
• Crossover
• Cannonball Pool
• Bank Pool
• Bottle Pocket

Billiard Factory, 26419 I-45 N., The Woodlands, 281-681-8805, www.billiardfactory.com

• Mon.–Sat.: 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
• Sunday: Noon–5 p.m.