• Smaller theaters like Farmington Civic, Oxford 7also to reopen
The Farmington Civic Theater celebrated its 80th anniversary on Sept. 20.
Actually there was no celebration since the twinscreen theater has been shut down since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, it will reopen on Oct. 9 keeping with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order of 20-percent occupancy.
While the big chain theaters are preparing to reopen, so are smaller community theaters like the Farmington Civic and also the Oxford 7.
To keep in touch with their customers, the theater in Farmington has been open three nights a week to sell popcorn and other concessions throughout the shutdown.
“We’re a different type of theater — hometown and historical. There’s personal attachment not just customers to the theater but the heater to the customers,’’ said Scott Freeman, general manager. “It’s a nice friendly relationship. I was thinking how can we still engage with people even though we can’t be open to show movies. Popcorn seemed like a natural thing to do.
“It’s a connection we’ve been able to hold onto for awhile andwe enjoy that,’’ Freeman said.
InMarch when the shutdown order was handed down, he kept those employeeswho wanted to stay on for another week or so to help with cleaning.
He’s been working the entire time along with another employee who handles social media.
“For me behind the scenes I’mconstantly finding things that either need repairing or cleaning or fixing or replacing,’’ Freeman said. “I’ve gone from the top of the building to the bottom of the building looking for things to work on.’’
It’s a classic theater which was designed by architect C. Howard Crane who is also known for the Fox Theatre in Detroit. Upstairs there’s a historical display including photos from the horse-and-buggy days.
The Farmington Civic, which is owned by the city of Farmington, will be able to survive despite the 20-percent occupancy. The upstairs has a full capacity of 132 while the downstairs seats 273.
“I think there’s a lot of small towns, small theaters that are having a really hard time through this period. Some of them have gone under around the country. Obviously every state is handing this differently. Some states have barely shut down at all so they’re in better financial situations than we are,’’ Freeman said.
“What I would say is we’re going to be OK. We’ve lost a lot of revenue. Can you still break even at 20-percent occupancy? I believe we can,’’ he added.
Fewer employees will be needed to handle the lower volume of customers.
Hewill pre-sell a certain amount of tickets for each showing. Every other row will be kept vacant and customers will be asked to keep two seats between each group.
Freeman is still working on which movies will be available. Because the major chains are limited too, he may be able to acquiremore recent releases.
“We get movies a little later than other theaters that’s why we’re able to charge less for tickets. It’s probably going to be a mix of recent releases and some smaller movies that people haven’t heard of,’’ Freeman said. “We’re hoping the drive to go back and see some movies will be stronger than their lack of knowledge of the movie.’’
The Oxford 7 in downtown Oxford plans to reopen on Oct. 23 according to its website.
Jay Z. Douglas, general manager, has posted on Facebook that the theater is being cleaned and prepped for reopening.
“You have all shown how beloved this theater is to the community and simply by supporting us by coming in and seeing a movie, we will pay you back by always continuing to improve upon this Oxford landmark,’’ Douglas posted.