New theater opens in North Coventry
Flagship Premium Cinemas offers heated, reclining seats
NORTH COVENTRY >> Movie lovers across the tri-county region have a new choice to enjoy Hollywood’s latest offerings.
Flagship Premium Cinemas has opened an 8-auditorium luxury movie theater in North Coventry — bringing new life to a former movie theater that has stood empty for six years.
The theater boasts 537 heated leather reclining. It is the 19th location for the Massachusettsbased theater chain, and the company’s third in Pennsylvania
“We are a mainstream luxury cinema operator. There are folks that do mainstream cinema — traditional seats, and then the others that do dinner and a movie. We are down the middle. We provide luxury at an affordable price,” said Paul Wenger, president of Flagship Cinemas.
There was still a lot of activity at the theater on Tuesday, preparing for an opening for the evening shows on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The theater is located 790 Laurelwood Road in what was the former Carmike Coventry 8. It fronts Route 724 and is across from the Coventry Mall.
Flagship Cinemas’ “niche” according to Wenger, is to find locations in small towns and small cities and provide entertainment based on the needs of the community.
“We have purchased and leased a lot of buildings that have been boarded up and abandoned and we really enjoy resurrecting these old buildings and bringing them back to life,” he said. “There is something satisfying for us as a company to see something that was sitting for six or seven years and sometimes 10, and having the lights come back on and have patrons come through the front door.”
Wenger said the property was brought to the company’s attention last fall by a commercial real estate broker. The company purchased the building from Pennmark Management (which owns Coventry Mall) in November 2018, spending $1.05 million, according to Wenger.
He estimates that by the time all the work is complete, Flagship Cinemas will have invested an estimated $2 million in refurbishing the property. While the building looks familiar from the outside, it has been completely redone inside.
“Because it had really good bones and was well designed, we knew all we had to do was make repairs — quite a bit of repairs because it was sitting empty for six years — and then we enhanced it,” Wenger said, adding that it has a new roof, new HVAC, new ceilings and the bathrooms have been completely redone.
“Everything was ripped
down to the studs pretty much and now everything is fixed,” added Janet Oprendek, vice president of operations and administration.
Customers are encouraged to reserve their seats for the movie they want to see, but it isn’t necessary. The reservation system is more convenient, according to Oprendek.
“You can get here right when the movie starts and not have to worry about what seat you’re going to sit in,” she said.
Tickets can be purchased on the theater’s website, through an app, at lobby kiosks or at the concession stand or customer service in the lobby, according to Desmond Asberry, director of concessions and purchasing.
In addition to state of the art seating, the theater also boasts state of the art technology and conveniences for customers. The movie screens are larger, and the theater features digital projection and state of the art audio.
“The technology is about as high tech as it gets in this industry,” Wenger added.
Electronic posters are on display in the lobby, along with television monitors that play trailers while customers get refreshments or wait to go into an auditorium.
Flagship Cinemas boasts a concession stand that includes the traditional popcorn, candy and soda. It also features some hot food offerings including chicken fingers, French fries and pizza, as well as churros and Dippin’ Dots.
“We’re serving those items to enhance the entertainment experience and the experience in general,” Asberry added.
“Coming soon,” according to the team will be bottled beer and wine available at the refreshment stand. Work is currently underway to secure the necessary approvals.
A popular offering in Flagship Cinemas is the pail — a refillable popcorn pail that can be purchased for an initial $15 and refilled for $4 anytime during the next year. The pail will not be available in North Coventry until November, when the new program year begins, according to Asberry.
The four lobby ticket kiosks have video monitors installed on the backside of the kiosk, facing the parking
lot and visible from the parking lot.
“We try to keep them visually entertained everywhere they look,” Wenger said.
“We want to start the experience right from when they walk in the door. We want them to leave here and say to friends and family, ‘I think this place is awesome,’” Asberry added.
Tuesdays at Flagship Cinema is Super Tuesday, according to Oprendek, with $5 admission all day.
“In addition to luxury experience at an affordable price, we have an even less expensive day $5 Tuesday — all day,” she said.
Flagship Cinema has several other programs it offers at other its other locations — including classics, a kids series and independent and art film series. Those additional programs won’t start immediately at the North Coventry location.
Wenger pointed out that there is ample parking at the theater.
“Originally the theater had more than 1,000 seats. We have reduced that seating capacity, so now there is just about one parking space per chair,” he said.
Ticket prices at Flagship Cinemas are: Before 6 p.m., $7.50; after 6 p.m., $10.50 for adults and $7.50 for children, seniors, military and college students; as well as Super Tuesday, $5.