It’s been an exhausting first week for many students, but at the eastern-most stop on the Metro Light Rail, the train breaks smoothly at a place where a carefree night of billiards awaits.
Main Street Billiards, located off the stop at Sycamore and Main streets in Mesa, is a regular pool-table sanctuary for some Valley residents, and a place where some go to escape the rough ride of life.
East Valley resident Lee Collins not only works the counter at Main Street Billiards, but also spends most of his spare time in the mauve-carpeted and laughter-filled pool hall perfecting his game in tournaments.
“It’s a challenge,” Collins said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are, pool is always a challenge.”
Collins, who started playing pool in 1967, worked at Main Street Billiards for a short time in the ’90s and returned without hesitation once he had the opportunity.
Between light rail construction, which began in 2005, and the 2007 ban on indoor smoking, Collins said business was lagging for some time, but now he’s glad to see more commuters coming through the doors.
“Business is coming back,” Collins said.
Filled with 42 tables, Main Street Billiards has been a beloved anchor of the East Valley since 1992. Pool player Carlos Esparza said Billiards is the “Cheers of Mesa.”
“There’s so much space here,” Collins said on why he spends so much of his time at Billiards. “There’s more room for people to have a good time.”
Video by Dylan Abrams.
Jason Caton, a pool player since he was 12, has been coming to Billiards since he moved to the Valley in 1999, and can’t get enough of the warm atmosphere.
“It’s real laid back,” Caton said. “The crowd is diverse; it’s great.”
The easygoing crowd, including Collins, is one that Caton has been laughing with for over a decade.
“I’ve been coming here forever,” he said. “I’ve known a lot of these guys, well, forever.”
For Darnyll Ishmael, a student at the Cortiva Institute of Scottsdale, Main Street Billiards is a great escape from the classroom.
“Pool helps me focus,” he said.
Though there are several ASU students who come in to play pool, Collins said he’d like to see more.
“There aren’t as many as we would like,” he said. “We want more to be involved.”
Main Street Billiards hosts College Nights every Sunday, from noon to midnight, where students can play free on a 9-foot table if they buy food or a drink.
Students have the chance to unwind during pool tournaments every Sunday, Monday and Wednesday, or can come in any other day to simply relax.
Reach the reporter at ktenagli@asu.edu
