Art films, classic films and a second chance at newer movies
could be the Granada movie theater
’s future if Mike Wilkinson can pull a rabbit out of his hat –
again.
Art films, classic films and a second chance at newer movies could be the Granada movie theater’s future if Mike Wilkinson can pull a rabbit out of his hat – again.
Performing magic tricks with darkened, abandoned movie theaters seems to be Wilkinson’s stock-in-trade; in any case, it is a challenge that he doesn’t pass up lightly.
The 30-year-old Wilkinson, who grew up in Marin County’s Tiburon and fell in love with movie theaters as a teenager, has already brought a theater in Colusa (near Chico) back to a thriving life, mostly with his own elbow grease and sheer determination. He also re-opened Colusa’s Riverside Lanes, a bowling alley, with success.
What he has in mind for the Granada is three screens and a café.
“The main auditorium (250 seats) will have the look and feel of the original Granada, including the mural restoration, full-width screen and original lights,” Wilkinson said.
Besides the main theater, he plans a medium room with 100 seats and a smaller one with 40 to 50 seats, a layout planned to accommodate different scenarios and provide far greater choice in movies than is currently available. Preliminary plans for a café include something between a café menu and a traditional theater menu plus coffee drinks – light fare, he says, patterned after the cozy affair at the former Camera 3 in San Jose.
“If all goes well, I’m hoping to open before next summer,” he said.
Wilkinson said he doesn’t intend to compete with mainstream first-run movies at Cinelux Theatres in Tennant Station.
“It will be mainly art and foreign films and a mixture of classics, maybe a midnight show,” he said. “The restored original stage can accommodate live comedy shows and musical events.”
He wants to make the Granada a destination, and not just for locals, by giving people a few extras – which he is not quite ready to divulge. A well-trained staff that does more than just sell tickets and popcorn will provide a relaxed, personal atmosphere.
For the bright lights to switch back on at the Granada, however, several pieces must come together in just the right way. Wilkinson has entered the city’s competition for a share of $3 million remaining Redevelopment Agency funds dedicated to downtown; he is actively looking for investors convinced he can make the it work and prosper and he needs the city’s building assistance and planning departments, downtown businesses and potential movie patrons behind him.
The theater, built in 1952, will need structural changes, to handle three screens, plus new paint, seating, carpeting and rest rooms, to say nothing of sound and projection systems. Wilkinson isn’t expecting the city to pay for everything but he’d like a deferred three-year loan on funds covering the historical aspects, uncovered recently and found on the original plans that Granada owners Ed and Irene Endersons have loaned him.
“I’ve asked (the city) for a combination low-interest loan and possibly some grants for the historical parts,” he said. “The final estimates are not in yet but I’m looking at a combination between a low-interest loan and private funding for the $800,000-$850,000 project.”
“It would be difficult for me to take over the full financial burden of the Granada,” Wilkinson said Thursday.
Weston Miles Architects built a preliminary cost estimate that Wilkinson submitted to the city; the firm expects renovation to cost, with taxes and contingencies, $847,039.
Barbara Jensen-Bailey, who takes a group on monthly trips to San Jose or Los Gatos to see art and classic films, said she would love to see an art house in town.
“We get more people when – and this is rare – the movie we choose is in Morgan Hill than when we have to drive. If the Granada shows those films we could even meet twice a month,” Jensen-Bailey said.
Her movie group, an interest group of the local American Association of University Women, is called the “No Arnold, No Bruce Movie Society,” named before Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor. Jensen-Bailey’s response to a possible café was “super!”
Wilkinson talks about his new project with enthusiasm. He clearly loves the business and the challenge.
“I’m lucky to have found something that I enjoy so early in life,” Wilkinson said. “I’m a movie fan all around.”
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Carol Holzgrafe covers City Hall for The Times. She can be reached by e-mail at ch********@mo*************.com or phoning (408) 779-4106 Ext. 201.
