More Than What Meets The Eye: Visit Our Showroom Today!

       "I've passed this place about a million times and this is the first time I've come in."  "Gee, this place is a lot bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside!"

       If I had a dime for every time I heard these sentiments from a  first-time customer, I'd be...well...let's just say I'd have quite a bit more saved for retirement!  I usually hear these quoted words (or words to that effect) once a week depending on the time of year (some times of the year are busier than others).  It's either the first quote, the second quote or both.  
       Nonetheless, however and whenever it's said, it just shows me a number of things of which I often need reminding.  Among the reminders are:  We've been here a long time on the well-trafficked road of Central Park Avenue (Rt. 100) in Yonkers, New York.  We've been noticed on this main commercial route much more than we realize.  The people who express these sentiments are never disappointed when they finally make their way into the store.

       Now our building isn't the eighth wonder of the world.  But apparently, the fifteen-foot vaulted ceiling in the front of the building is highly visible for pedestrians and passing motorists.  It makes a noticeable difference on the road to any passerby.     However, according to many surprised first-time visitors, they thought that was the entire store!  But it isn't.  What is apparently not visible from the road is the twenty-four foot wide showroom space inside the front of the building and the fourteen foot wide corridor of showroom space that leads to the expanded showroom space in the back of the building.

       In all of the aforementioned spaces, we've consistently kept an attractive display of goods, set up in a tasteful room decor, knowing that taking care of your showroom translates into a more attractive shopping experience for our customers.  This is basic stuff actually, "retail 101" if you will. However, it's not always practiced, even in some of the more prominent retail store chains in the area.  

       But we're not a chain.  We're a family-owned and operated business that was established 104 years ago (and counting) as a custom pool-table manufacturer on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  We've had a store in Yonkers for 59 years (and counting) and have been at this present location for the past 43 years (and counting).  Since 1998, this has been our sole location.  We're still a vendor of quality slate-top pool tables and other "traditional gaming".  But we've also become one of the best known awards suppliers in the tri-state area since opening the store in Yonkers 59 years ago.

       So if you're in the Yonkers area and you're in the market for what we offer - or if you're just curious about that building with the high, triangular-shaped roof and stucco siding at 1876 Central Park Avenue (that you've happened to pass by a million times) - take a moment to stop by and take a look inside.  You'll find that there's more than what meets the eye compared to what you've seen from outside.  You'll probably be a million times surprised as well!

Traditional "Gaming" Is Alive & Well at Loria!

       In this age of highly developed satellite-based, digital/wireless technology, it seems that we have a constant source of entertainment at our fingertips, wherever we are and wherever we go.  Smart-phones, tablets and wi-fi are being used for almost every activity in life.  It's an age of unparalleled convenience that, among other things, enables us to satisfy that craving for entertainment in a world where escapist entertainment has become the overwhelming norm.  Whether it's watching those CGI-saturated "superhero" movies, following each other's comments on Twitter, or playing those video games with the epic 3D graphics, we are engrossed in another world - the virtual world.  I'm sure we all visit there from time to time.

       On that point, I specifically address the "entertainment" aspect of technology in the present-day world.  It is as equally amazing to me as it is also the stuff of a cautionary tale. As we have become ever-increasingly caught up in the virtual world, we start to dwell in a world where we seem to be "here, but not here".  You know the scene.  A family of four convenes in a family restaurant and all four family members are hypnotized by whatever wireless device they happen to have - no conversation, no interaction.  Their senses (as well as two of their limbs) are exclusively focused on what's in their smart-phone or tablet.  Will the real "real world" please step forward?

       I know this may be a popular lament among those who predate the technology revolution.  But just as we can marvel at the remarkable level of the technology behind digital and virtual-world entertainment these days (and even indulge from time to time in these forms of entertainment), we end up "virtually" living in the "virtual world", at the expense of valuable moments that we can only find in the "real world".  Like that family of four in the family restaurant, we are foregoing valuable time together when we individually detach ourselves from each other like that.  When we have an opportunity to interact with real friends and family, we need to realize the inherent value in that and forego the "virtual world" for a while.
       Unequivocally, what we identify as the "real world" has been permanently revolutionized by wireless technology - for better or worse.  No question about it.  But we cannot replace the real world with a virtual one, even in the realm of entertainment.   This is the point:  When we give disproportionate time to our electronic devices, time for other things (i.e. basic "human" things) goes down in the process.  Frequently, things like in-person conversations, basic social interaction skills, handwriting skills, real person-to person camaraderie among family and friends take a back-seat in everyday life - if they're not altogether banished.  We've become a very distracted society.  No question about that either.        

       So for those in search of a return to more organic ways of having entertainment in the real world with real people in a real room (the original "chat room" if you will), do not be discouraged!  Loria offers what we like to call "traditional gaming".  Yes, behind this editorial is a pitch for the type of gaming that encourages "real world" camaraderie and competition.

       As a fourth generation family-business, we have a hard time surrendering what we deem important in entertainment - being in the real world with real people having fun together - unlike the virtual world of digital gaming, where too often we're "here, but not here".  I don't condemn the world of digital gaming.  I just know that it shouldn't dominate our lives when it comes to entertainment because then our real lives just become "virtual" as well.  Even in the world of entertainment, making pleasant memories with family and friends means being in the same room with them, and interacting with them.

       So if you're tired of being led around by remote control in the world of digital gaming and wish to play games in the real world, do not despair.  Loria has been a stubborn purveyor of "traditional gaming" for more than one-hundred years, with our wide variety of home and commercial slate-top pool-tables.  Over the years, we've also come offer an extensive array of other "real world" games - such as table-tennis, foosball tables, combination poker/dining tables and bars, with stools and chairs to match!  We have been the "go to" place for over two decades for league quality steel-tip darts, dartboards and dart accessories - as well as the "royal" game of chess (including an LED-lit version), an assortment of plastic-coated playing cards, dominoes and even bingo!  

       For more information on our variety of "traditional gaming", please visit our showroom in Yonkers, New York and our website at:  LoriaPoolTables.com

By Roger V. Loria, Jr.

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