Suburban Theatre

September opening set for Guymon theater.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005 1:49 PM CDT

"Don't look for a movie theater in Guymon until sometime in September according to the owner of the Northridge Shopping Centre Brian Mitchell.

The owners of the mall reached an agreement with Ron and Jeanette Funderburg who managed the theatre, to buy out the equipment within the theater. The theater when it reopens will be completely operated by the mall.

Mitchell did not disclose the terms of the deal.

The theater closed late last week when when Suburban Cinemas LLC allegedly couldn't pay the over $100,000 in back taxes on the theater.

The Funderburgs also run the theatre in Woodward. An agreement was reached with the tax commission to reopen the Lakeside Theatres in Woodward by this Friday. The taxes owed on that theatre was substantially less, around $30,000. They also tried to open a theater in Dumas, Texas but that venture wasn't successful.

In a prepared statement from the Funderburgs issued Tuesday morning, they said:

"Suburban Cinemas owners Ron and Jeanette Funderburg and Les Prater would like to thank all of the people of Guymon and the surrounding areas for their past support and patronage. The last five years have been a wild ride. We are sorry it's over but circumstances dictate that we no longer run the Northridge 8."

The transaction between the two owners will take place either late this week or early next week.

However the theatre is going to remain closed for cleaning and maintenance including improvements upon the theatre.

Mitchell said that they are going to be adding some new things including an express lane for people who only want popcorn and soft drinks.

Mitchell said they are also looking at getting an entire new computer system for ticketing and concessions and people will now be able to get tickets for the theatre online when it opens.

"It's shut down right now so it's the time to do some of that stuff and revamp the theatre," said Mitchell.

More concession lines will be available as well as a section of what Mitchell called "old-school alley" which will include older arcade games such as Pac-Man. There will be a more current arcade area for people who aren't into the older version of games too.

"We apologize for the shut-down but keep looking at our web page for updates," said Mitchell".

This poor theatre looks like someone backed up a bunch of trailors next to a shopping mall. What was wrong with the Suburban Twin anyway? I went there in college, and its owner ran a tight ship. I even remember when the Coral Drive In operated behind it. Newer it not always better!