New Pool Room in Northfield Is Owner's Retirement Wish

Darl Rah has few regrets when it comes to playing pool. Spending the money intended to pay for his senior yearbook in a pool hall instead is one of them.

“I now wish that I wouldn’t have done that,” he said. “Once you graduate, they get hard to come by.”

For Rah—owner of Break, a new pool hall at 660 Professional Dr.—playing pool has held a special place in his life since he was 16. That’s when he and his family began frequenting a pool hall geared to families in Mankato.

“I just fell in love with pool,” said Rah, who was born in Morristown. “I just got hooked, and I’ve been playing ever since.”

Pool, however, has been more than just a hobby for Rah, who has lived in Lonsdale for the past five years with his wife, Mary, a surgical nurse at . He owned a pool hall in the Mankato area in the late 1980s, between stints as an over-the-road truck driver.

And now that he is retired, he has returned to the pool business, calling his Northfield business a dream come true.

“I always said that I wanted to run a pool hall in my retirement,” he said. “I get to have fun every day, just as long as I make enough to pay the bills.”

And Rah is confident that will happen in Northfield, especially with having two colleges—and plenty of potential customers—in town.

“When I was in Mankato, it needed a good pool room that was something different,” he said. “I did it from scratch, and it turned out great. Northfield needs a good pool room, and I think I’ve created one.”

The aptly named Break—which opened for business this week—has eight pool tables, a jukebox and lots of mismatched chairs, something Rah is quite proud of.

“My wife and I spent two days on Craigslist, going around and buying up chairs,” he said. “I would say we saved about a couple thousand dollars getting this up and running.”

At least for the time being, Break will be a “dry” pool hall, meaning no alcohol is served.

“I want people to come here and play pool,” he said. “So, I would prefer not to sell beer.”

Break opens each day at noon. As for closing time, Rah, the pool hall’s only employee, prefers to see how each day’s business goes.

He said, “If there are people here playing pool and having a good time at 10 o’clock, I’m not going to kick them out.”