West Cinema back in business
Cedartown landmark re-opens after months of renovation work
It felt like a red carpet affair for some people who have been patiently waiting to get back into a local theater and see a film.
For West Cinema owner Michael Tinney, it’s been a months-long investment of time and money to get the historic theater back up and running. He finally got to call it finished and opened the doors this past weekend, and greeted large crowds who got to enjoy all the work he’s put back into downtown Cedartown.
“I think that this is something you’d probably expect to see in a big, big city,” Tinney said during a ribbon cutting ceremony of local officials last Friday before the box offices opened during the afternoon. “But we have it right here in Cedartown.”
The wait ended with a lot of shock and awe for those who got a sneak peek prior to the doors opening again last weekend. Tinney took officials on a tour of all the renovations completed on the theater, including the re-opening of the balcony area as two screens, VIP areas open for rental at $160 a show, new bathrooms, and brand new seats and screens.
Design features also include the Cedartown High School colors of black, red, grey and white throughout, including red seats with “West Cinema” embroidered into the head rests.
Those VIP boxes are the best seats in the house for the two large screens and are private balconies, where up to 8 people can enjoy leather reclining seats for a showing.
West Cinema even has brand new bathrooms including a handicapped-accessible private bathroom, concession areas, and even an additional box office for when there’s a need to overflow ticket sales when they get busy.
There’s even brand new chandelier in the lobby that provides a touch of elegance
in an otherwise growing digital experience. Even the menu boards for the concession stand are television screens, and Tinney plans to sell advertising on additional screens in the lobby as well.
The consensus among those who stopped by for last Friday afternoon’s ribbon cutting and tour was excitement over the new space, and plans to purchase tickets as soon as they can.
Right now, the theater will be showing ‘The Grinch,” “Fantastic Beats: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Halloween” and “Venom.”
Show times are 7 and 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 p.m. on Sundays and
Mondays to start.
Tinney hopes the theater remains busy after he made a big investment he didn’t wish to disclose the final figures of, but said it was well above six figures of work put back into the theater.
With the project done, he hopes the community will appreciate all the changes he’s made in the past months.
All of these changes and more are some that Tinney hopes the community as a whole will enjoy.
“I ask that everyone come out and support it, and get the word out and share it,” he said. “That’s the way that we’re going to make Cedartown great.”
Tinney told local business owners and officials he’s just getting started in downtown Cedartown.
“I plan on doing a lot more things in Cedartown and Polk County,” Tinney said. “This is where I’ m at.”