Pool Hall – Time Out Lounge – Tempe, AZ

Although this place apparently came into existence about the time I started shooting pool, I never knew about it and never visited it until moving back to Phoenix caused me to dig a bit deeper in terms of places to shoot.

Perhaps part is location. On essentially the northeast corner of Southern and Mill Avenues, it’s located almost caddy-corner from The Q and Brew, but you’d probably not know it because the Q and Brew is hidden completely from street view and the Time Out Lounge is at the end of a strip mall and you’d need to be looking for it to see it.

Three tables. Basic bar-box tables with bar-level felt. Nothing fancy here. It’s a fairly small bar, at least post-COVID. Most folks are at the bar itself. There’s room to spread out throughout the room, though. A low-stress, neighborhood bar vibe. Most of the folks at the bar seemed to know one another and the owner. Nothing fancy and a bit rough around the edges perhaps by some standards, but a good chill place to relax and shoot. Bar-boxes are all coin-op tables though pool is free during the afternoons most days. A variety of plaques and trophies indicate leagues have played there in the past but I’m not sure if they still do.

The guy I shot against assured me that on Friday and Saturday nights all three tables are booked constantly with friendly games and wagering. I haven’t been back to test his assertion but I don’t have a reason to doubt it.