BY JIM ROBERTS
KEMPSVILLE — James McArthur and Nathan Tant are 17-year-olds intently focused on getting to the American Poolplayers Association’s Junior Nationals this summer in St. Louis — but they still sound like awestruck teens when they talk about the first time they visited Q-Master Billiards.
“I thought it was crazy,” McArthur, who lives in Suffolk, said on a recent Sunday afternoon of league play and practice. “I walked in here, and I was like, ‘Look how nice these pool tables are.’ And then there’s like 70 others.”
Tant, who lives in Chesapeake, had a similar reaction. He’d never seen this many pool tables in one building.
All told, there are 70.
“It was really, really cool,” Tant said.
In fact, size is the business’ claim to fame. A local institution with a national reputation, Q-Master is said to have the most tables of any pool hall in the U.S.
“There’s a place that’s got a larger footprint, but not as many tables,” Gary Ornoff, Q-Master’s general manager, said during a recent interview. “They’ve got a dance floor, and they’ve got other things going on, but I think they have like 55 tables. So, for now, we’re the biggest.”
After a pause, he added: “No one’s said we’re not.”
The first incarnation, Paddle & Cue, was a pool hall with pingpong tables in the Five Points section of Norfolk. After a few years, Behrman ditched the pingpong, moved across the street and renamed the business Q-Master.
That was followed by a successful move to Waterside, a less successful effort to expand in Franklin and, in 1993, the move to the current location in the Arrowhead section of Kempsville.
Behrman also founded the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, which brought international attention to Q-Master and its revered tournament room.
“The U.S. Open was his third kid,” Ornoff explained. “It’s the most prestigious pool tournament still running in the world.”
“Between the three of us,” Ornoff said, “we just made a lot of good decisions together as a group. I know Barry would have been real proud of the decisions we’ve made.”
For one, Q-Master has overcome the stigma once associated with pool halls.
“There’s no smoke or dark griminess anywhere in here,” Brady Behrman said. “It’s a nice, clean place for people of all ages.
“You’re not gonna ever come in here and hear people hooting and hollering, going crazy or anything of that nature,” Behrman added. “There’s plenty of room, plenty of space between every one of these 70 tables in the building, and we want to continue to make sure that this is the kind of exquisite billiard room—not just in Hampton Roads, but in the world.”
Q-Master also has a full-service restaurant and bar and a staff of more than 50. In addition to its size and reputation, the most critical piece of Q-Master’s success is the location.
‘I think it’s always been just a perfect fit,” Ornoff said. “This Newtown and Princess Anne corridor is so convenient for people that want to come visit, whether they’re staying at the Oceanfront or downtown Norfolk. …
“We fit in to the community really well. I got lucky, or Barry was just a genius. I’m not sure.”
“We were new to the area completely,” Gideon McArthur said. “Coming in here, I got to know people. James got to know the kids on the team and got to make friends. He’s got buddies he hangs out with and shoots pool. I’ve got friends here now that I shoot pool with.”
And they spend time together.
“It’s a family thing because we all get to hang out,” he said. “We get to shoot the bull, and it winds up being just a good time.”
Stephanie Santos, who runs the youth league James McArthur and Tant play in, also competes in the APA.
“I’ve traveled across the country,” she said during a recent interview. “Q-Master’s is the best place to play. They take care of their tables. There’s no riffraff here. It’s mellow, quiet. There’s no funny business. It is a great family environment.”
That sentiment sounds better to Ornoff than a golden break.
“I like to steer the ship one degree at a time,” he said. “To be able to turn things around in a thoughtful way and to see the results, it’s pretty crazy.”
Following the challenges faced during the pandemic shutdowns, the business has seen significant growth each year since.
“Double digits every year, so we must be doing something right,” he said. “We’re making pool cool again.”
Visit q-masters.com or call (757) 499-8900 for more information about Q-Master Billiards.
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