One day, while hanging out with his father in the basement of their home, Homer Brown picked up a table tennis racket for the first time. Although he would fill other roles throughout his life — including Chief Operating Officer at Vulcan Oil — he never forgot his first true love. Today, Brown could certainly choose to rest on his laurels; he has created the country’s first table tennis store, and he’s won his share of local, regional and national recognition in the sport. But the 72-year-old founder and owner of BumperNets still looks forward to going to work daily and sharing his passion with scores of happy customers. “When you believe in what you’re doing,” he mused, “it makes everything better – and it makes it harder to give it up.”
After playing table tennis his senior year of high school, Brown continued finessing his skills at Covenant College, a private liberal arts institution near Chattanooga, where he started a collegiate team with the goal of competing nationally — and they soon did. Brown valued these early opportunities to travel the country and meet people, and, by the time he was married with his own family, he was a certified table tennis coach at the top of his game, determined to teach his toddler son the rules. And teach him he did – so well, in fact, that at just 5 years old, Adam Brown placed in the Junior Olympics for boys and girls ages 10 and under. Several years later, at 18, Adam was the youngest person to win the men’s singles in the state of Alabama. The accolades continued from there.
Fast-forward to 2021, and this award-winning father and son team has been running a highly successful business for more than two decades. The inception of BumperNets in August 1999 was on the heels of Homer Brown’s own Olympic medals, which he was awarded following his departure from Vulcan Oil. He wanted to see if he was “still in the right shape to run a retail store,” and fortunately, he was. The first iteration of BumperNets, located in the Brookwood Village Mall, was a well-received experiment, according to Brown. Folks were excited to play table sports on-site, often in competition with a robot opponent, as well as inquire about their own equipment. “I wanted the store to be active,” Brown pointed out. “I wanted to create a place from beginner to professional; a place to learn or play or buy.”
Now located in Hoover’s Riverchase Galleria and spanning a total of three spaces — one designed for kids — BumperNets has solidified its reputation as the ultimate destination for table sports: table tennis, billiards, air hockey, foosball, shuffleboard and more. The business is the longest-running independent retailer at the Galleria, with a separate entrance located in the parking lot of Macy’s. Arcade games, including a number of limited edition pinball machines, complement the experience at BumperNets and add to the fun. Customers can play a round and buy whatever they need to continue their obsessions at home; the store is stocked with new and gently-used tables for each sport, plus all the necessary accessories.
In addition to purchases, BumperNets offers repairs — and, because a great deal of business is conducted through the internet, shipments are always coming and going. Even traveling within a four-hour radius to service other arcades is part of the workload. They stay very busy — in fact, as of writing this story, Brown was getting ready to visit the Florida panhandle.
“I want the best for all of my customers,” he emphasized. “Adam and I make a good team. He makes sure things are handled at the store; I’m more the face of the business. We receive items here from the manufacturer and make sure they’re correct and get to customers on time. Together, we make sure everything is right.”
“I love my customers and enjoy serving them,” he added. “I enjoy offering a safe and neat place for them to come and play together, whether it is for a first date or a family reunion or a just a cool place to meet a new friend.”