The Mission and 21st street bar location that’s been 12 Galaxies, the Blue Macaw, Balançoire, and seemingly countless other venues since has a new tenant lined up, a high-end pool hall called Hall Bar & Billiards.

Those of us who were in SF in the early- to mid-2000s remember there was once actually a Frank Chu-themed bar called 12 Galaxies at 21st and Mission Streets. It was established in 2004, but closed in 2008, and the location has been kind of a cursed space ever since.  

Since then, the space has had a string of unsuccessful incarnations like the Blue Macaw (2009-13), Balançoire (2014-16), Mission Street Sports Bar (2018-19), a dance club called Arena SF (2019-2023), and since then another failed dance bar called Echo SFC (did not even last all of 2023).

But as if on cue, that high-turnover 2565 Mission Street space is now slated to become a high-end billiards hall, according to the SF Business Times. The pool hall will be known as Hall Bar & Billiards, slated to open this spring, and it already has a website and a Facebook page.

“We recognize there’s a gap in the market,” the concept’s co-founder Modi Shantharam, an avid billiards player, told the Business Times. “There’s no place like this in the Bay Area.”

The idea is to create something similar to New York’s Amsterdam Billiards Club. The website describes the idea as “a cocktail lounge/restaurant with pool as an activity,” and the menu as “a cultural melting pot where high-end cocktails meet the soul of the streets.” The 8,500-square-foot space says it will host eight Diamond Billiards pool tables.

Yes, this space may seem cursed, but the concept fills a need. The old mid-Market Hollywood Billiards (above the LA Gals strip club) did draw well in the late 90s, until someone was shot and killed there in 2003. And the venerated Family Billiards on Geary Street in Anza Vista is reportedly soon to close. So there may be a bank shot available if this new pool hall successfully fills its niche.

Related: Mission Street Pollo Campero to Double in Size, and Get a Huge Makeover [SFist]

Image: Google Street View