Downtown theater closes following death of owner
The closure of Tehachapi’s only movie theater following the death of its owner marked the apparent end of a business that helped revitalize downtown and provided entertainment for three decades.
In a notice posted on the door of Hitching Post Theaters, Manager Chris Thurlow said that after 30 years of movies and memories in beautiful Tehachapi, the theater closed its doors for the final time on Monday.
In the notice, Thurlow said owner Will Viner tragically passed away on Friday, Feb. 16, due to complications after surgery
“His son, Joey, spent the days following his father’s passing evaluating the business and, unfortunately, has made the decision that he is not in a position to keep it operating,” he said.
A similar notice was posted on the Hitching Post Theaters website and also on the website for Village Theaters North in Big Bear, another theater owned by Viner.
“We are shocked and saddened about the news of the passing of Will Viner,” city spokesperson Key Budge said Tuesday morning. “We send our condolences to the Viner family.”
Viner was the owner of E&W Theatres Inc., headquartered in Valencia.
He opened the downtown Tehachapi
theater complex with three screens in 1994, followed by a fourth screen in 1995.
The Squires family built the building at the corner of South Green and F streets following the 1952 earthquake. Through the years, the building has housed the post office, clothing store, drug store and variety store.
The theaters were forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic but reopened in May 2021, employing about a dozen people.
Many Tehachapi teenagers had their first jobs at the movie theater, and Viner was known for his generosity,
donating movie passes for fundraisers and making the facility available to show films with a local connection.
In addition to providing the community with first-run films at affordable prices, the theater hosted special events on holidays and participated in the city of Tehachapi’s Hometown Christmas the last two years.
Additional information about Viner or the future of the facility was not immediately available.