When Cinemark Movies 10 left town in the fall of 2015, many were left wondering if they’d ever see a flick on the big screen again. The discount prices were a big draw for thrifty moviegoers—from large families to college students.
“I’ve got a family of five. We could go to the movies and pick something to watch and it wouldn’t kill us,” said Ralph Harrison, Jr.
Harrison, his brother and father joined together to open Venue Cinemas in the former Visulite Cinemas building in the Plaza shopping center.
The family has a background in the business. Harrison worked at Movies 10 in the 90s. His brother managed the theater until it closed last year.
“The biggest hurdle we had [with the Visulite building] was that all of the film projectors weren’t in great shape,” said Harrison.
They did a lot of research and invested in digital projectors. And as time goes on, their plan is to remodel the theaters one at a time, even the concession area.
Movie tickets cost $3/person, with discounts for college students and seniors as well as special deals certain times of the week.