The Story - Butch and Donny Olhausen

As kids growing up in New Mexico, Butch and Don Olhausen worked for their dad setting up and re-covering pool tables. Their dad had a shop in every house they ever lived in. Little did they know they were learning a trade that would carry them through the rest of their lives.

In the summer of 1969, Butch moved to California. Donny decided to follow in 1972. That's when the Olhausen boys started their own company, moving and re-covering pool tables. They also delivered new tables for a small manufacturing company in downtown San Diego. They charged $12 to deliver and install a new table, using Butch's classic '59 El Camino and paying for the gas. What a deal! They could be done with a delivery by 10:00 A.M. After that, they would go out and "pound the pavement" for any more work they could find.

Then came what they thought was a great opportunity. The owner of the manufacturing company that they delivered for offered to sell them the business for $1000 and take a note back on the inventory. So in 1973, they took everything they had and bought the company lock, stock and barrel. That's when the world changed for them.

The company they bought was making about 35 tables annually. The first year, their goal was to somehow double the business and sell 70 tables. Within two years, they were selling over 300. ©Olhausen Billiard Manufacturing, Inc. is now selling almost 30,000 tables a year in their 250,000-square-foot facility in Portland Tennessee. Still family- owned and operated, Butch, Donny and all the people at Olhausen® have consistently pursued a tradition of dedication to Quality, Service, Selection and Value. These attributes and four generations in the business have earned their company the title of "The Best in Billiards®."