San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
ON TAP FOR $10M MAKEOVER
When the sprawling cinema and dining complex known as Theatre Box debuted more than four years ago in the Gaslamp Quarter, there were high hopes for the ambitious downtown project. After all, it boasted ties to the legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and it promised venues with links to such celebs as Nick Jonas, Nick Cannon and the Kardashians.
A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, though, was too much for the multiplex. The eight theaters there have now closed, along with every other Theatre Box venue, including the Sugar Factory, the over-the-top candy store and brasserie, a brand known for its celebrity sightings of the likes of Kim Kardashian. It shuttered about a month ago, as did the theaters, along with Villa One Tequila Gardens, a rooftop venue co-developed by Jonas, of Jonas Brothers’ fame. It was in business less than three months. Also gone is the much-promoted Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘N Out Sports Bar & Arcade, which operated for less than a year.
Co-owner Elie Samaha says he has no intention of letting the threestory space that spans Fifth and Sixth avenues become a white elephant. A Mexican cantina — Mr. Tempo — has occupied for the last six months the former Sugar Factory candy store and bar. Next door, a 10,000-square-foot sports bar, complete with more than 40 TV screens, is poised to open by early next month.
Within a few months, Samaha and his partner, Jorge Cueva, founder of Mr. Tempo, also hope to open a Tulum-style fine-dining steakhouse in the space that previously housed the Sugar Factory American Brasserie.
Less certain is the prospect for any future movie theaters following a rocky rebound from the pandemic that led to the closure of hundreds of movie screens across the country.
“Lots of good theaters are closing. It’s not the fault of Gaslamp or us,” said Samaha, a longtime film producer and co-owner of TCL Chinese Theatre, formerly known as Grauman’s. “Everyone can stream these days. We tried really hard to