Suzi Cue’s storefront, posted to their Instagram @suzicueosu. Credit: Brian Staats
Don’t scratch, Columbus — instead, people can head on down to Suzi-Cue, the only pool hall near Ohio State.
Suzi-Cue, located at 1950 N. Fourth St., opened in 1982 and is named after the original owner’s wife, Suzanne, current owner Brian Staats said. With free pool nights, competitive leagues and activities — such as darts or ping-pong — Staats said Suzi-Cue has a lot to offer customers, and all are welcome.
“I just like to have a fun, safe place where everyone is welcome,” Staats said. “Every skill level of pool player can come in and have a good time.”
According to its website, Suzi-Cue is open every day from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Happy hour is held every day from open until 7 p.m., and the hall itself becomes 21-plus after 11 p.m. Suzi-Cue offers free pool nights to Ohio State students on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a valid BuckID, according to its website.
Chris Judd, a manager at Suzi-Cue and a 2011 Ohio State alumnus, said these free pool nights are a great way to get more students familiar with the spot.
“This helps get more people involved and lets students come check us out,” Judd said.
“It’s important to get the younger generation interested in pool, so that’s why we have pool leagues too, which has been nice because we’ve gotten a lot of new people in and excited about pool.”
Judd said Suzi-Cue has 10 pool tables, and it tries to run pool leagues as often as possible, with busy fall and winter seasons.
Judd said there is more than just pool at Suzi-Cue — such as free darts, ping-pong, a pop-a-shot game, a jukebox, board games, a Ninja Turtle Arcade game and sports playing on the pool hall’s televisions.
Suzi-Cue places emphasis on supporting Ohio sports and beers, as it offers many Ohio beers on draft and streams a variety of sports at the bar, Judd said. During the NFL season, Suzi-Cue’s also has the NFL Sunday Ticket and offers happy hour discounts all day on football Sundays, Judd said.
“It’s different from a lot of other bars, and it’s very comfortable with a lot to do inside. People can do anything from just entertaining themselves to watching a game to having a good beer or drink,” Judd said.
Judd said while attending Ohio State, he and some friends decided to visit Suzi-Cue after hearing they had pool tables. Since then, Judd became manager and has been working there for over 10 years.
He said he instantly felt at home at Suzi-Cue, and this led him to continue going back.
“I walked in there and it kind of has that effect of once you go in there, if you enjoy the place, you always tend to go back,” Judd said.
Judd described the energy of Suzi-Cue as a melting pot and said while often overlooked, the place is an amazing hangout spot.
“A lot of times I hear from people that they didn’t know about our place and that it seems kind of hidden away, but once you come in it’s like, ‘Oh, this place is actually really cool,’” Judd said.
