TIFFIN, Ohio — A group of investors in Seneca County has stepped forward to save a movie theater in Tiffin from closing.
The former Cinemark movie theater off of West Market Street will rebrand as the Seneca Starvue Theater & Events with new additions like presentation rooms and event centers.
"We had a group of local investors that stepped forward and acquired the rights to the location and will be operating the former Cinemark location now as Starvue," said Aaron Montz, president and CEO of the Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership.
Dennis Armstrong, a businessman local to the area and now co-owner of the theater, explained the investors' desire to keep the theater alive.
"One of the other investors reached out to me and asked if I'd like to be part of the project," Armstrong said. "And I said, absolutely, we definitely want to be a part of that. We want to be able to keep this theater."
Those who live in Tiffin knew the impact closing a movie theater would have on the community.
"When it closes, even people that haven't been to the theater in years are impacted by that and we didn't want to see that happen. It can be a little bit demoralizing to a community," Armstrong said.
Because the movie theater is a staple in Tiffin, Montz said local leaders knew they had to take a chance.
"We want to keep as many folks as we can here locally, spending their money locally and at the same time, attract maybe some folks into Seneca County who don't live here to do some of their activities," he said. "I think this event center will bring in people of all ages."
Movie theaters have struggled over the past few years, but Tiffin and Seneca aren't going to give up.
"Nothing replaces the experience of watching a movie on a giant screen with surround sound. I mean, it's just fun," Armstrong said. "Your first date was probably at a movie theater. You bring your kids to the movie theater. There are so many things that are great memories and we want people to fall in love with coming to the movies again."
Seneca Starvue has been open to the public as of Sept. 6 and the first event is expected to take place in November.