Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
For nearly two months, an enterprising group of four movie lovers has been working long hours inside Napanee’s former Boulevard Cinema, giving the inside a total facelift.
Their end result will be Bouler House Cinema, a mixture of a movie theatre and gaming centre they’re aiming to open by Dec. 19.
Like its predecessor the theatre will house two big screens with a state-of-the- art sound system but it will also expand to include a private birthday room, a gaming room and an upgraded concession stand.
“We’re basically taking it down to the nuts and bolts and we’ve replaced a lot,” said Morgan Rayer, one of the four business partners behind the relaunch.
Originally they had hoped to open within a month of taking possession of the theatre but a flood coupled with a few surprises during renovations has delayed the process.
“I think everyone just took advantage of the fact that (Boulevard Cinema) theatre was here for 22 years,” said Trevor Martin, another of the partners. “You don’t really miss it until it’s gone. Now everyone is saying we need to do something to keep this here.”
Back in May the Boulevard Cinema rolled credits on its final film before rather unexpectedly closing its doors for good.
“Once the theatre closed it really opened up the void for the kids in this community, everybody in the community,” said Sarah Martin, Trevor’s wife and business partner.
“That’s when we all knew we needed that time back where we had a place to go and something to do within the community that was cost effective rather than going somewhere else.”
She said the previous theatre’s closing, coupled with both the indoor and outdoor pool’s closure left little for the town’s youth to do for fun. That’s what led her to be a driving force behind reviving the movie theatre.
“We couldn’t lose one more thing,” she added.
It’s not just the youth they’re aiming to serve however, as they say their facility will cater to everyone from zero to 99. The games room won’t be limited to movie-goers either. All patrons are welcome to play video games or shoot pool for as long as they like.
“A date night shouldn’t cost you $100,” said Mischelle Rayer, Morgan’s wife and business partner. “That’s the thing with trying to create a place like this is having that opportunity to make it affordable is really important.”
Rayer adds that they will have a state of the art security system in place as well to ensure a safe spot for everyone to attend.
“We want a place where the kids can come after school, play some video games or some pool or whatever the case may be as a group,” she said. “And we want parents to feel comfortable with dropping off their kids.”
Rayer says they’re looking at earlier showtimes to cater students and seniors. They’re also working with the building inspector to bring the rear exits up to code so that patrons can take advantage of the back parking lot.
Since making an announcement on social media earlier this month, the group says they’ve had plenty of positive support from the community. Though they are still working with the distribution companies, they hope their first selection of movies will be Wonder and The Star.
As for the Bouler House name, Martin says she fashioned the name after a combination of the bowler hat, a favourite of her son, and as an homage to the Boulevard Cinema.
Gift cards, tickets and concession stand items can be pre-purchased at www.theatrenapanee.com/shop.