After six years, more planning and zoning board meetings than anyone can count, construction delays, legal woes and financial hurdles ”“ nearly $8 million has been invested in the project ”“ Monroe”™s six-screen cinema opened with a bang on Friday, May 9.
The opening didn”™t come without a few glitches. The elevator didn”™t work, so Casey Gittelman and her husband, co-owner Norman Adie, opened the three screening rooms on the first floor. “Without the elevator, we aren”™t handicap accessible, but that will be fixed in two weeks,” said Gittelman. “In a way, it was a bit of a blessing, because we have to complete some work to the second floor, but we wanted to open on time. The community waited so long. We didn”™t want to disappoint them.
“Some of the neighborhood kids got a little rambunctious, opening the doors to let their friends sneak in, but overall, we were very pleased that people turned out. The weather wasn”™t good, so that drew more people.”
Gittelman put a lot of sweat equity into the building, which she describes as a “boutique theater … We are not simply going to have six screens and shuffle people in and out. We have ample room for birthday parties and to create something for adults, too ”“ a bistro-style cappuccino nook where they can relax.”
The new four-story theater has remained within the footprint of the original theater that once stood there. Although Adie tried to work with the old building, “It was just impossible,” said general contractor Asastasios Romnios. “The place was in such a dilapidated state; the mildew was incredible. There was no saving any of it. It was really a health hazard. We do have a beauty here,” he said, waving his hand towards the retro-style box offices. “And if anyone is going to make this a destination, it is Norman and Casey.”
Faux finishes on floors and walls, 50”™s style ticket booths, with stadium seating in the theaters and a sound system to knock your socks off make the Monroe Cinema an eye- and ear-catching treat. Gittelman has designed most of the interior herself. She”™s apt to climb a ladder with a paint brush to get just the look she wants.
Now that the theater is officially opened, Lake Street businesses are keeping fingers crossed that, as word gets around, visitors will rediscover downtown Monroe.
“I”™ve been here since 1949,” said Charles Lesser, owner of Monroe Jewelers, who sits on the village Board of Trustees. “This will help bring people back to our Main Street, and we are certainly happy with the beautiful building Norman and Casey have created. It”™s going to attract people to come to downtown and help build it back up again.
This street was once thriving, and we believe with the addition of the theater, we can make it a real destination again.”
Caffe Gelato owner David Barile agrees. He opened Planet Pizza on the corner of Lake Street and Mill Pond Parkway six years ago, and does brisk business. Last year, Barile opened Caffe Gelato next door.
“We did very well our first season, considering that people have forgotten Lake Street used to be ”˜the”™ place to shop and eat in Monroe. Prices of food seem to have stopped climbing. They haven”™t come down, but they seem to be leveling off. Gelato is now $36 a gallon, up from $29 last year. We raised our prices 10 cents. We”™re not looking to scare people away. We want the townspeople to realize we can create our own downtown. We don”™t need to drive 30 or 40 miles any more.”
Walkers who use the paths that loop around the lake that fronts the theater described Monroe Cinema ”“ complete with a clock tower bearing a silhouette of Charlie Chaplin ”“as a pleasure to look at. And they like it as a destination. “It beats driving 20 miles to see a movie,” said one jogger.
“It”™s great to have the movies back in Monroe,” said Lesser. “And it will be even better once people discover our stores and what we have to offer. It”™s a great time to start a special niche business, one that you won”™t find in the mall or Wal-Mart. Even in my own business, although we”™ve been here since 1949, people are discovering there are stores out there with real owners that take pride in their stores and in the quality of their work and what they offer.”
What would Lesser like to see next? “A good old-fashioned Jewish delicatessen,” he grinned, “one where you can get a great knish.”
