Rack 'Em Up

Brunswick Billiards (Bristol, Wis.) is opening its first company-owned Home & Billiard retail store, in suburban Chicago. The 6000-square-foot space, opening today in Wilmette, Ill., will sell game-room furnishings, including billiards tables, bar stools and air hockey tables.

Brunswick Billiards currently operates more than 300 retail dealer locations across the United States. The store is an outgrowth of the “pavilion” concept the company launched three years ago, which immerses customers in the details of selecting and buying a pool table by giving them choices regarding the wood finishes, cloth colors and accessories. The Brunswick retail store takes the pavilion concept a step further by offering such items as framed lithographs and artwork and a line of barware and kitchen-counter stools, along with a variety of traditional board games.

Company officials say they designed the store for women just as much as for men. “That is why we have incorporated home accessories, such as martini glasses, wine racks and elegant coasters to complement Brunswick's wide variety of pool tables,” says Steve de Alcala, Brunswick Billiards' retail sales director.