Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Those tired of snow or suffering cabin fever didn’t have to go beyond Main Street P.I. for a change in scenery last weekend, as the Braden Theater opened to the public for its first show on Saturday afternoon.
Staff photo/Kathy McCartyIn preparation for opening day, Saturday, March 1, staff at the Braden Theater, located on Main Street, tested the popcorn machine – sampling a bite or two in the process – to make sure the equipment was ready for the big event.
“It’s been a long period of preparation, but it looks like we’re going to be able to open this Saturday,” said Chris Dow, co-owner of the theater during a pre-opening interview.
Chris said his first shows will include two movies not previously run at the Caribou movie theater.
“We’re actually starting with a couple – two big ones that didn’t play in Caribou. ‘There Will Be Blood,’ starring Best Actor Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis; and ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,’ starring Johnny Depp,” said Chris.
“Sweeney Todd” also won an Oscar, taking the award for art direction.
The third movie, more suitable for children, is “The Spiderwick Chronicles.”
Chris and his father, Arlen Dow, purchased the building last spring and have spent countless hours remodeling the downtown landmark.
“We re-did the theater from top to bottom. We have insulated walls now – tore down to bare concrete and rebuilt, installed carpeting – basically everything’s new,” said Arlen Dow, co-owner of the facility. “Nothing is laid out like it was in the old theater. We’ve made a number of upgrades.”
The three theaters seat approximately 150 people each.
“The first theater seats 171 people, the middle around 144 and the third one around 161,” said Chris.
Progress has been slow, with upgrades to the sprinkler system just one of the delays.
“We had a one-inch water line for the sprinkler system that needed to be brought up to date. We had to dig in front of the theater to get down to the city’s water line, then we had to have a specialist come up to do a live connection,” said Arlen, noting that one job cost over $10,000.
“It’s been a constant touch and go,” said Chris.
Once the sprinkler system was taken care of, work on the inside was completed, with painting and carpeting having to be finished. Projectors, seats and screens were installed for the three theaters. The Dows also had to wait for various licenses to be approved and inspections performed.
“We had to get the fire marshal to come in and do the inspection. It seemed everyone had to come in to inspect something,” said Chris. “Now we’re good to go on all fronts.”
Most recently the Dows have focused on the lobby area.
“This week we’re putting the finishing touches on the lobby. The distributor delivered the candy for the concession stand – advised us on what was popular in other theaters he services,” said Arlen, pointing to the variety of goodies stored for now in boxes beneath the counter. “We also have popcorn and a variety of beverages – six kinds of soda, energy drinks, water.”
Plans are to keep the cost of snacks affordable.
“Concessions will be very reasonable. It doesn’t make sense to charge a high price. People will buy more if it’s affordable,” said Chris.
The theater will have two showings per night, beginning at 7 p.m. usually, depending on the length of each film.
“We’ll be open seven days a week. We’ll also have matinees on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and during school vacations,” said Arlen. “We’re planning to open this weekend with matinees starting around 1:30 p.m.”
This weekend’s prediction of snow isn’t deterring the owners’ plans to open on Saturday.
“The good thing about a movie theater, it’s a controlled environment. It doesn’t matter what it’s doing outside, folks can come in and be comfortable and enjoy a movie. We won’t stop what we’re doing just because of snow,” said Arlen.
Staff has been hired and have been preparing for the upcoming opening.
“We’ve been going over everything, making sure everything’s working properly so things will go smoothly for opening day. We’ve got about a half dozen on staff right now. We don’t want to hire too many. It’s better to need to add, depending on the flow of moviegoers, rather than have to let someone go,” said Chris.
The Dows have come up with what they believe is a reasonable ticket price that will suit most family budgets.
“When times get tough, People can always go to the movies and buy ice cream if they want to have fun. It was my choice to charge $5 a ticket. That’s not what the movie company wanted; they recommended $7.50 for adults and around $6 for kids. I’d rather have folks come see a movie twice rather than not at all,” said Arlen. “For $5 – that’s about the same as they can rent a movie. The difference is, here they get to see it much sooner – near its release date – and they get to view it on a big screen. And it makes for an enjoyable outing for an individual, a couple or an entire family.”
Cash is currently the only payment option being accepted.
“We’re hoping to get a debit/credit card machine at some point. But for now, we’re only accepting cash for ticket sales,” said Chris.
Arlen said the opening of the Braden will generate more traffic downtown, attracting people from other parts of Aroostook County and maybe even Canada to visit, watch a movie and do some shopping. Parking is available along Main and Academy streets, with additional spots available across the street in the public parking lot.
“There aren’t many theaters in the area, so we’re hoping this will give folks another reason to come to Presque Isle. We expect to see folks from Easton, Mars Hill, Ashland, maybe Canada – from all over. We hope it will be good for downtown businesses too. It’s been a while since we had a theater attracting business to Main Street. A theater’s been needed for quite some time. And now we’ll have one,” said Arlen.
He said regardless of the weather, business should be steady, thanks to the location of the theater.
“We’re within walking distance of many homes where we’re located. We’re walking distance from the university. So weather shouldn’t be a problem. A lot of people have four-wheel drives, so a little snow won’t slow them down if they want to go out,” said Arlen. “By Saturday, we’ll have everything in place and be ready to go. We’re looking forward to opening day.”
Plans are to have an answering machine hooked up to the theater phone line within a few days. For more information, contact 768-5500.
