Front Street pool hall draws fire

A Main Street board member voiced concern at Tuesday’s City Council meeting over the possibility of a pool hall opening on Front Street saying that issuing a liquor license to that business could lead to the downtown area becoming overrun with bars.
Lauren Hebert, treasurer of the Morgan City Main Street Board, expressed opposition to the council having given pre-clearance to Jules Roussel for a liquor license at April’s council meeting. Roussel plans to open a pool hall at 600 Front St., the old Leon Kahn Department Store.
“As the Main Street Board, we want you to know that we do not feel that a pool hall is in the best interest of the area or the city especially of those limited resources that we have in the Main Street area,” Hebert said.
Roussel said he thinks the business will work or he would not be putting money into it if he thought otherwise. Roussel plans to put $75,000 to $100,000 into the old Leon Kahn Department Store to turn it into a pool hall, he said.
People who come to play billiards tournaments are not going to get drunk but might have a few drinks to relax, Roussel said.
Hebert asked the council to determine whether a city ordinance that does not allow nightclubs, private dance clubs or party establishments to be located within 300 feet of a residence would apply in this case.
Councilman Barry Dufrene said that pool halls do not fall under the category that would restrict certain establishments from being located within 300 feet of a residence.
Mayor Frank “Boo” Grizzaffi said his understanding of a tournament billiards club is that it is a much different environment from a smoky place with a couple people playing pool for a beer.
Roussel said he has owned a nightclub and a bar before and did not like either one. “I do not want to go through that again,” Roussel said.
One of Hebert’s business partners said Lafayette’s downtown area has been destroyed by an influx of bars, Hebert said. As a result, Lafayette issued a moratorium on issuing new bar licenses in the downtown area, but the moratorium was put in place too late, she said.
Hebert has talked to residents and business owners in Morgan City, and almost everyone was against allowing a bar to open in the Main Street area, she said. “People want these buildings so it is not due to lack of interest that they are sitting vacant,” Hebert said. “Please do not think that a business that wants a bar license is our city’s only option.”
Hebert does not want the downtown area to turn into what it used to be with lots of bars, she said. Hebert wants to use one of the vacant downtown buildings for her own business, a CPA firm, but she will not locate her business next to a business with a bar license, she said. One bar license issued will lead to another one being issued, Hebert said.
Jerry Potter, who runs a pool league in Morgan City, said he would like to have a nice place to hold a tournament in Morgan City. “If the place is not nice, we won’t be there,” Potter said.
Potter believes Roussel’s pool hall will be an adequate place to hold tournaments, he said. Plus, the city would see economic benefit from pool tournaments, he said. People spend $400 to $500 in communities when they come in for weekend tournaments, Potter said.