LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Monday, movie theaters could start reopening across the state. While it may be a while before you see bigger chains reopen, smaller local theaters are ready to welcome people back.
The Kentucky Theatre in Lexington was ready to go on the first day it could reopen its doors.
“Everyone seemed to be happy, I guess to have a place to go,” said manager Fred Mills.
The feature film right now is Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory and you can expect to see other classics on the big screen for now, since studios pushed back some of the release dates of their new films.
“It’s kind of a throwback summer in a sense, at least early on for the Kentucky Theatre,” said Mills. “We’re going back to some of those film companies’ archives, through their libraries.”
While you’ll see familiar movies, you’ll definitely experience some changes in an effort to keep people safe, like spaced off seating, standing markers at the box office counter and frequent cleaning between shows.
As one theater has a few days under its belt, another, Theatres of Georgetown, is making its final preparations before reopening its doors.
“First time in 60 plus years that we haven’t had a theater operating and movies on the screen,” said Operations Director Scott Roaden. “So, we’ll have to get back to that. That’s what it’s about.”
The Georgetown business will reopen Friday, June 5th and you’ll see the changes as soon as you walk in.
“If you need tickets only, you’ll go through the outside aisle here. We’ve created some barriers to let you move through without being in close proximity to another guest,” said Roaden.
If you need tickets and concessions, there’s another line for that, with standing spaces blocked off to keep parties apart. They’ll also have plexiglass barriers at counters, frequent cleaning and only three shows a day instead of five.
It’s different, but after three months, it’s a happy moment to get movie fans back in the seats.
