The vacant slot at the Festival at Manchester Lakes shopping plaza is being remodeled for Bungalow Billiards, a billiards restaurant, providing an option on the night-life scene in Kingstowne.
The brainstorming of owners Keith and Cheryl Early, of Ashburn, produced the formula at Bungalows, which Keith Early feels sets him apart.
"Everybody serves the same beer. It comes down to the atmosphere." With food quality a specialty, Early claimed, "We make an outstanding effort in that area."
Competition is stiff in the area, though, with several restaurants on the same road with similar atmospheres — food, televised sports, alcohol and burgers — all aimed at the 20- and 30-somethings of Kingstowne. The motif at Bungalow Billiards is similar to Fast Eddies and Hard Times Cafe in central Springfield, with a bar and about 20 pool tables that charge by the hour.
Damon's right across the parking lot had that market cornered, but Damon's fan, Pat Burns, felt the pool tables added a new dimension. He's also played at Eddie's before.
"I think it could use a little something," he said of the pool-table option, "I would rather have one closer."
Mark Holland lives down Beulah Street and shops at the Shoppers Food Warehouse. Parking in that lot gets tight sometimes, especially when a sporting event is on and Damon's is full.
"The space over here gets pretty tight. I know there's parking in the back, but no one parks there," he said.
Early's plan is to have the interior set up with one-third earmarked as a pool-table section with 14 tables, and two-thirds as a bar-restaurant. Out front, he plans to have a front-porch area, which will be in the restaurant, with two pool tables and an exclusive bar. There won't be anything sticking out in the parking lot, though. Around back, he's planning another entrance, for regulars only, and a VIP card required for entry through that door. Requirements for the VIP card are yet to be decided.
Shoppers Food Warehouse is on one side of their location, and Jerry's Subs is on the other. Jerry's manager, Chris Insua, liked the aspect of more customer traffic but looked at the parking situation as well.
"If they're going to be like Hard Times and have parking in the back, it will be good," he said, but with the new attraction comes people.
"You get your share, they get their share," Insua said.
It's in Lee District, and Supervisor Dana Kauffman's (D) chief of staff Jeff McKay was aware of the new business. Early met with Kauffman's office in August. "Billiard halls at that location need a special permit," McKay said.
The special permit was issued Jan. 14, and Early plans to open in early April. "We have a target date around April Fool's Day," Early boasted.
THE MANCHESTER LAKES location is the fourth Bungalows Early has opened. The first was in Chantilly; the second, "Cascades Bungalow," is in the Sterling area; and the third one is in Shirlington. Each has a different motif. Chantilly opened in 1996 as the original; Cascades is "Greetings from Key West;" and Shirlington is the "Tiki Surf Club." The bar top is a slice of Early's life. He decorated it himself with family pictures, miscellaneous cards, customer memorabilia and even a "Pass Out" game from his college days.
"I actually poured the top myself," he said of the polyurethane coating. It was a pool place in Chicago that inspired the Bungalows owner.
The Earlys live in Ashburn, but he grew up in Arlington, where he frequented Champion Billiards. His restaurant experience is traced back to Rhiannon's, a Springfield night spot in the 1980s in the Keene Mill Center. From there, he sold restaurant software, namely "Digital Dining," with a Springfield-based company, Menusoft Corp. Ed Gillis, the namesake of Fast Eddie’s, was a customer of Early's software.
Although there are currently 10 restaurants in the three-mile stretch of Manchester Lakes Boulevard/Kingstowne Parkway from Beulah Street to Franconia Road, Lori Higgins, communications manager at Kingstowne Homeowners Association, is confident there is a need. A Macaroni Grille is currently on the plans as well, but more offices and housing are slated for the area.
"We need more restaurants here. If you've ever tried to get into a restaurant in Kingstowne, I don't think there can be enough," she said.
Early is looking to expand to Tysons Corner in the near future, as well.