Penn Hills Cinemas attempts to keep the doors open
Paul Looker wasn’t exactly becoming a millionaire as the owner/caretaker of Penn Hills Cinemas. He began working at the theater in 2007 and saved it from extinction in 2011 when the owner was bailing on the business at the tail end of the last recession. Running the theater that’s been in the Penn Hills Shopping Center since 1966, he took pride in keeping ticket and concession prices well below those of the chain theaters.
Asked if he was doing OK there prior to the pandemic, Looker says, “I mean, it’s a four-screen, independent movie theater. The definition of OK is just breaking even, with the kind of salary some might call a fool to take for the hours that are involved. But there are fools out there who would take that salary, so yeah.”
Then came COVID-19, which shut the theater down in March 2020. Although it was able to reopen in August of that year, the theater business has never rebounded — due to the short supply of new movies and people’s hesitancy to go back to theaters — so it’s been 21 straight months working at a loss.
He’s been able to keep the doors open and the bills up to date thanks to two Paycheck Protection Program loans from the Small Business Administration, although the second of those prevented him applying for the more generous Shuttered Venue Operators Grants paid out to organizations this summer.
Because he can’t continue to work in the red, Looker is exploring different options with help from live music presenter Mike Yanchak, aka Mike Why. Yanchak, who helped manage the theater until December 2019, is an a cappella/beatbox performer and creator of PHiLLTER, a Live Music + Technology Community that hosts performances and festivals featuring one-person bands, most of which use live looping techniques, a la Ed Sheeran.
For three nights this weekend, one of the four theaters at Penn Hills Cinemas, which each hold about 100 people, will be devoted to live comedy, hip-hop from 1Hood Media, indie films and an evening of EDM. After that, they will continue to produce live and streamed events there, while still being a reliable theater for first-run movies.
“We’re going to work together in a way that will allow it to continue operating as a movie theater as it has for 60 years here in Penn Hills and, in addition, open the doors to independent artists and musicians who need to eat during the pandemic to put up live, hybrid online shows,” Yanchak says.
The hope is that the live performances and an online fundraiser will raise enough money to keep the cinema in operation.
“It’s kind of a miracle they’re still open,” Yanchak says. “It’s two more months and no more Penn Hills Cinema without a community response.”
Asked if he’s optimistic about the future of the cinemas, Looker says, “I’m pretty burned out. I recognize if it got busy, this could maybe do it. So, I’m about as optimistic as I can be.”
Here are the details on the performances:
Thursday: Pittsburgh Local Stand Up hosted by Harry Gilliland and featuring Amanda Averell, Joey Welsh, Stacey Fleurime, Shannon Norman, Zivan Vasquez and Blake Scala. 8:30-10 p.m.
Friday: Films from Jay White Digital (7 p.m.), performances from 1LiveMedia (8 p.m.), digital feature TBA (9 p.m.), Showcase Winners and Feature TBA (10 p.m.)
Saturday: EDM hosted by Metamind Artistry Collective (9:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m.)
Admission for any one night is $15; All Weekend Pass $20. Masks required. Costumes welcome. 21+ BYOB (aluminum cans only). All other contributions are welcome.