Comments from BarbaraGentry

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BarbaraGentry
BarbaraGentry commented about Sandy Springs Theatre on Jun 12, 2007 at 2:39 pm

Hey Stan. Cone and family were our next door neighbors, but neither of them were lawyers. Don’t know where that “fact” got started! I also remember the name of Jeff/Geoff Tyre, but can’t really remember any details about him off the top of my head. Dad and Cone founded owned the entire Mini Cinema chain until it was sold. I remember looking at different logos when they were deciding on the one to use. (The corporate name was Modular Cinemas of America.) I don’t know the “story behind Storey” though. P'tree Battle was DEFINITELY the first one to open. No doubt whatsoever. I believe Ansley was 2nd, but won’t take an oath to swear it! I’m almost positive dad
was still involved when Doraville opened — Candler doesn’t ring a bell, but I was only about 12-14, so I don’t remember completely. Also, I believe there was another theater in Athens, GA. My mom’s favorite movie was “The Twelve Chairs,” one I have vague but fond
memories of. I remember taking a bunch of kids from school to
P'tree Battle for FREE, making me very popular! My sister worked
the concession stand at P.B. when she was in high school, too. Both
mom and dad are gone, but I, too, have very fond memories of
that “new concept” in movie theater experiences. Too bad dad and
Cone were ahead of their time. I would be a gazillionaire heiress
today!

BarbaraGentry
BarbaraGentry commented about Sandy Springs Theatre on Jun 8, 2007 at 12:50 pm

Jack and Stan, you have great knowledge of the Mini Cinema chain. You forgot, however, one fact that is near and dear to me: my father, Robert Gentry, and his partner Cone Maddox founded the company. I remember when the P'tree Battle theater was getting ready to open. The press would be there en masse for this new concept in movie theaters, and our house was buzzing with excitement. Unfortunately, one can never predict the unexpected, as an event happened that day which took practically every reporter from Atlanta out of town. The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. happened the night of our big grand opening.