Couple answers opportunity’s knock, buy Villa Grove theater
By Amy Rose
Tuesday, September 18, 2007 6:48 AM CDT
VILLA GROVE â€" When Bill Hayes of Villa Grove was laid off from his engineering job in April, he and his wife, Tana, began looking for a new opportunity.
After the owner of the Villa Grove Twin Cinemas announced the movie theater was up for sale, the Hayeses knew they had found what they wanted.
The couple took over as owners and residents of the theater a week ago.
“It’s huge, and it all had to happen very quickly,” Tana Hayes said.
The Hayeses are operating under the umbrella of the previous owner, who is training them.
“No one’s left us high and dry. They’ve all been wonderful,” she said.
The former manager of the theater, Trisa Martin, has taught them the basics, such as operating the equipment and working with the films. Martin said she was happy to help.
“They are nice people and very family-oriented,” Martin said.
Tana Hayes, 43, had some experience working at a movie theater in her early working days. Her brother-in-law still manages that same theater in Idaho. He also has helped the couple learn the movie theater business.
Bill Hayes, 45, grew up in Oregon living in his family’s grocery store and gas station.
The Hayeses have kept on all of the part-time employees but have added their three children to the operation. The kids help out in the concession stand and sweeping up after the movies.
Bill says their children â€" Katie, 9, Tabitha, 11, and Jackson, 13 â€" are designated members of their board of directors. They consider the theater a new adventure and like living in the apartment above the theater.
“I think it’s fun,” Katie said. “Free popcorn, free movies and my own room.”
The biggest change for moviegoers is the name of the theater: Gemini Cinemas. The Hayeses think the new name adapts the original name of the theater, The Gem, and reflects the twin screens added by the former owners.
The theater still will show current releases. Movies will be scheduled on opening weekends or within a few weeks of release.
Their main patrons are families and senior citizens, so they focus on offering movies for those audiences.
The Hayeses also added a new later 9:30 showing on the weekends for those out-of-towners wanting to come to a show after dinner.
Jason Swearingen brought his family from Tuscola to see a movie on a recent Sunday afternoon.
“I’m thrilled to see it’s still open,” Swearingen said.
When he and his wife want to see a movie, he said, they always check the Villa Grove theater first. They like the close location and the affordable prices.
The Hayeses plan to expand their advertising to draw in more customers from the area. They also hope to work more with area schools.
Bill Hayes has registered as a substitute teacher in Champaign-Urbana and other communities to subsidize the family income and have the flexibility to work at the theater in the evenings. He also hopes the school districts will be interested in teaming up with the theater for student outings.
The couple might add a 4:15 show on Fridays and offer occasional free matinees and early showings during school holidays.
They don’t want to get into a lot of gimmicks, he said; just provide good entertainment for all.
I notice in the ad that it’s the last day at the Valencia for “Beau James” and “Rumble on the Docks” and that they both would be playing the next day at the Loew’s Triboro in Astoria. So I guess the Triboro was a send-run move-over house, even though it was a pretty opulent place itself. /theaters/1542/
The answer, for when Warren’s link is taken down, is “20 Million Miles to Earth” and “The 27th Day.”
and I was almost right — there WAS a Jayne Mansfield picture playing in Jamaica that date, but not with the ad line “Not Since ‘King Kong’ Has The Screen Seen Anything Like It!” although both pictures had stars with prominent chests.
The first would have to be Jayne Mansfield in “The Girl Can’t Help It” (and indeed the screen had never seen anything like [them]) and the second feature has many shocking possibilities but none that I can place in 1957…Streisand as Yentl? Lucy as Mame? Liberace as straight? All mind-boggling, yet none correct.
I kind of remember that Zips vanilla soft-serve ice cream was blindingly white, and I always put too many toppings on which rendered it more sickening than delicious.
I moved to the area in 1979 so I just missed seeing this place. My loss.
And as a disinterested observer (I don’t even have this theater on my notice list because it would clog my mailbox with the various pissing contests that seem to flow here) it seems that while the Madison might have been a swell place to see a movie, they weren’t really playing anything you couldn’t see anywhere (and everywhere) else. I would guess it attracted those from Ridgwwood and neighboring areas but I doubt anyone travelled TOO far to come here.
I always thought this should have first turned into an adult movie house before it was torn down. I’m sure they would have made a small fortune…it was off the beaten path, on a sidestreet, yet easy to get to. The place was already twinned so they could have shown both types of porno. What a waste. The clothing place they built in its stead is already out of business.
That said, I saw many movies here, including my first 3-D, a 1970’s re-release of “House of Wax.” I also saw “Ghost” here several times and “La Bamba.”
It was also a good place to smoke some weed, as management never bothered anybody.
70mm is nice for a clearer picture, but the image here will be the same size, whether 35mm or 70mm.
webite http://www.fargotheatre.org/
Unless it recently went revival, most of the recent shots on here show movies on the arthouse circuit.
One could say that the statute is well-Huang.
It looks like it’s been renamed the Gemini — good name for a twin cinema formerly called the Gem — here is their new website www.villagrovemovies.com
Couple answers opportunity’s knock, buy Villa Grove theater
By Amy Rose
Tuesday, September 18, 2007 6:48 AM CDT
VILLA GROVE â€" When Bill Hayes of Villa Grove was laid off from his engineering job in April, he and his wife, Tana, began looking for a new opportunity.
After the owner of the Villa Grove Twin Cinemas announced the movie theater was up for sale, the Hayeses knew they had found what they wanted.
The couple took over as owners and residents of the theater a week ago.
“It’s huge, and it all had to happen very quickly,” Tana Hayes said.
The Hayeses are operating under the umbrella of the previous owner, who is training them.
“No one’s left us high and dry. They’ve all been wonderful,” she said.
The former manager of the theater, Trisa Martin, has taught them the basics, such as operating the equipment and working with the films. Martin said she was happy to help.
“They are nice people and very family-oriented,” Martin said.
Tana Hayes, 43, had some experience working at a movie theater in her early working days. Her brother-in-law still manages that same theater in Idaho. He also has helped the couple learn the movie theater business.
Bill Hayes, 45, grew up in Oregon living in his family’s grocery store and gas station.
The Hayeses have kept on all of the part-time employees but have added their three children to the operation. The kids help out in the concession stand and sweeping up after the movies.
Bill says their children â€" Katie, 9, Tabitha, 11, and Jackson, 13 â€" are designated members of their board of directors. They consider the theater a new adventure and like living in the apartment above the theater.
“I think it’s fun,” Katie said. “Free popcorn, free movies and my own room.”
The biggest change for moviegoers is the name of the theater: Gemini Cinemas. The Hayeses think the new name adapts the original name of the theater, The Gem, and reflects the twin screens added by the former owners.
The theater still will show current releases. Movies will be scheduled on opening weekends or within a few weeks of release.
Their main patrons are families and senior citizens, so they focus on offering movies for those audiences.
The Hayeses also added a new later 9:30 showing on the weekends for those out-of-towners wanting to come to a show after dinner.
Jason Swearingen brought his family from Tuscola to see a movie on a recent Sunday afternoon.
“I’m thrilled to see it’s still open,” Swearingen said.
When he and his wife want to see a movie, he said, they always check the Villa Grove theater first. They like the close location and the affordable prices.
The Hayeses plan to expand their advertising to draw in more customers from the area. They also hope to work more with area schools.
Bill Hayes has registered as a substitute teacher in Champaign-Urbana and other communities to subsidize the family income and have the flexibility to work at the theater in the evenings. He also hopes the school districts will be interested in teaming up with the theater for student outings.
The couple might add a 4:15 show on Fridays and offer occasional free matinees and early showings during school holidays.
They don’t want to get into a lot of gimmicks, he said; just provide good entertainment for all.
View link
second-run
I notice in the ad that it’s the last day at the Valencia for “Beau James” and “Rumble on the Docks” and that they both would be playing the next day at the Loew’s Triboro in Astoria. So I guess the Triboro was a send-run move-over house, even though it was a pretty opulent place itself. /theaters/1542/
>>saps, whose chest do you prefer, King Kong’s or Jayne Mansfield’s ? How about Fay Wray ?
They all have their good points.
Admission is free, but donation gladly accepted.
How did you cheat? Did you look it up somewhere?
The answer, for when Warren’s link is taken down, is “20 Million Miles to Earth” and “The 27th Day.”
and I was almost right — there WAS a Jayne Mansfield picture playing in Jamaica that date, but not with the ad line “Not Since ‘King Kong’ Has The Screen Seen Anything Like It!” although both pictures had stars with prominent chests.
And only slightly off topic, here’s the listing for the Vista:
/theaters/32/
Here’s Variety’s dictionary of slanguage. Please note this lisitng:
nabe — a neighborhood theater; “The film has had a long midnight run at the Vista, a Los Angeles nabe.”
(No listing for stem or main stem.)
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=slanguage
Variety often differentiated in their reviews how something would play on the stem (Broadway) and in the nabes (neighborhoods.)
The first would have to be Jayne Mansfield in “The Girl Can’t Help It” (and indeed the screen had never seen anything like [them]) and the second feature has many shocking possibilities but none that I can place in 1957…Streisand as Yentl? Lucy as Mame? Liberace as straight? All mind-boggling, yet none correct.
Bill, just make a left on John F. Kennedy Boulevard and go about 2783 miles…you should be there in about 40 hours.
Repugnant is such a repugnant word.
I kind of remember that Zips vanilla soft-serve ice cream was blindingly white, and I always put too many toppings on which rendered it more sickening than delicious.
That’s them, in a nutshell.
I moved to the area in 1979 so I just missed seeing this place. My loss.
And as a disinterested observer (I don’t even have this theater on my notice list because it would clog my mailbox with the various pissing contests that seem to flow here) it seems that while the Madison might have been a swell place to see a movie, they weren’t really playing anything you couldn’t see anywhere (and everywhere) else. I would guess it attracted those from Ridgwwood and neighboring areas but I doubt anyone travelled TOO far to come here.
I always thought this should have first turned into an adult movie house before it was torn down. I’m sure they would have made a small fortune…it was off the beaten path, on a sidestreet, yet easy to get to. The place was already twinned so they could have shown both types of porno. What a waste. The clothing place they built in its stead is already out of business.
That said, I saw many movies here, including my first 3-D, a 1970’s re-release of “House of Wax.” I also saw “Ghost” here several times and “La Bamba.”
It was also a good place to smoke some weed, as management never bothered anybody.
Jeez…can Artie Lange fill a 5,000 seat theater? Who else was on the bill?
>>At the time of this item Skelton was headlining at the famed Chez Paree.
Sure it wasn’t the Gay Paree? (Or was that red-headed Danny Kaye I’m thinking of?)
/theaters/21339/
It’ll take a miracle…
Could you speak up a bit?