Meet John Tidd.
It is always inspiring to hear the successes where opportunity meets hard work. In an industry where it is commonly heard and feared for the lack of interest and growth, John Tidd of Crown Billiard Supply, found such an opportunity.
His story is not unlike yours or mine—the colorful balls rolling and bouncing from one end to another, that unique sound of cue hitting cue ball and of course the satisfaction of pocketing balls—envelops you and you fall in love. His introduction started at 15 years of age.
His accomplishments are many and highly respectable.
He is the owner and operator of Crown Billiard Supplies (a retail pro shop out of Burke’s Billiards in Torrington, CT), an authorized dealer for Balabushka, McDermott and Schon Cues and retailer of dart supplies. He has his own brand (and design) of custom cues called 683 Custom Cues with a raving endorsement from World Trick Shot Artist Andy Segal, forged a relationship with custom cuemaker Mark Theriault of MT Cues and together, commissioned one of a kind cues for local tournament winners.
What’s more impressive, is that John has done all of this within the past three years.
Seeing a need to support local players and knowing the owner of Burke’s Billiards, a well-established pool room in Torrington, John placed a simple 12-cue display case with some basic accessories there for sale. Demand was high and that quickly grew to another 24-cue display case with more offerings at varying price points. Interest grew to include more accessories, books and DVDs.
After eight months, John decided to become a dealer for Balabushka and now the cases are filled with many popular high-quality cues. As with equipment, the need to service them arises so he reached out to 15 year veteran Mark Theriault of MT Cues. Providing his customers with repair services and upgrades, John’s relationship with Mark grew too.
Being the savvy marketer that he is, John believed the best way to grow his brand was to create his own line of cues and 683 Custom Cues was born.
Each 683 Cue is personally designed by John and commissioned to MT Cues. The cues are limited to 2 unique designs per year and are traditional-style designs.
Together, they’ve created cues for local tournament winners and John hopes to soon feature themed cues too.
Never one to let an opportunity go, dart leagues are popular at Burke’s and guess what? Crown Billiard Supply offers that too.
On the topic of leagues, guess who’s also a local division representative for the APA? You guessed it— it was John.
John’s foresight and vision to capitalize on opportunities and network with like-minded individuals will catapult his businesses and more importantly, help grow the sport that we all love.
I don’t know where he finds the time, but he’s a full-time cabinetmaker by trade… what’s next John?
For more information click on Crown Billiard Supply and 683 Custom Cues, and MT Cues.
Joe Young is owner and operator of American Cueist Billiards, a retailer, cue repair mechanic and owner of Mighty Custom Cues since 2002. In 2012, partnered to open Fat Albert’s Billiards, South Jersey’s premier billiard room and winner of Best Billiard Hall 2014 from Philadelphia Magazine. American Cueist Billiards is an authorized dealer for Jacoby Custom Cues, Viking Cues, Meucci Cues, Kamui and G2 Tips.”
Photo: blog/youandmecharlie Editor: Edith Lazenby