After the longtime institution Don Q closed its doors in August, a new establishment has filled the spot where locals can gather to shoot a game of pool and pass the time with friends.

The Rack, a new family-friendly pool hall, has filled the location at 1128 Chapala St. with hopes of bringing in old and new customers.

Meagan Soloff, one of The Rack’s owners, said the goal of the new business is to create more of a community center and move away from the classic idea of a pool hall.

“Our tagline is ‘The Rack, A pool hall for all,’” Soloff said. “And I want children in here. I want students. We want everyone to be able to play the game of pool. It doesn’t have to be a dingy, dark environment. It can be updated, it can be bright, and it can be a little bit feminine.”

Since signing the lease in September, Soloff and her partners, Jon Bruenning and Evan Henderson, have been working to update and clean the space. The trio cleaned and painted all the walls, replaced all the balls and cues, and redid the felt on the tables before it opened in early October.

“We know it was a legacy environment,” Soloff said. “But we really wanted to clean it up so that everyone was comfortable.”

The trio also installed a digital jukebox that lets customers choose the songs. The Rack is also working on obtaining a liquor license to serve beer along with treats from its snack bar.

Soloff says The Rack also plans to host tournaments in collaboration with the Billiards Congress of America and the American Poolplayers Association. She said they also plan to run doubles and women’s tournaments during part of the week, and some tournaments for locals who just want to play and practice.

She added that a few pro players have offered to come out to offer lessons to people who want to learn. Soloff encourages new players to try, saying no one starts pool shooting well.

In addition to new features, Soloff says The Rack plans to bring consistency to locations that were missing in the last few years of Don Q. The former pool hall saw its hours scale back in the last few years since the pandemic, and was not always open during business hours.

The Rack plans to be open seven days a week from noon to 1 a.m.

Soloff says the consistency is important to the business, and the new owners want to make it more modern. That includes building a new website for the hall and a new Instagram page.

“We’re really fortunate to have gotten this legacy space,” Soloff said. “And it’s in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, in the best neighborhood in town. So, we’re just over the moon happy.”