|
Friday, 04 December 2009 |
By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
A little more than two years after rescuing the Wapa Theatre from closure, a Bluffton businessman says he has no choice but to close the landmark’s doors.
Wapa Theatre Manager Pete Suter informed his employees Wednesday night he would not be renewing the lease for the building on Willipie Street after the first quarter of 2010. The last scheduled day of operation for the theater is March 31.
The theater employs 12 part-time workers.
Suter, who also has owned the Shannon Theater in Bluffton for more than 20 years, said the decision to not renew the lease came down to an issue of time.
“We’re 25 miles away, and the businesses we have here in Bluffton are more demanding of our time,” Suter told the Wapakoneta Daily News in a telephone interview Thursday. “It wasn’t prudent to continue a break-even business 25 miles away.”
Suter said when he took over the theater in November 2007, it appeared to be a good market, and he said he still believes that.
But during the two years, he said he “became more experienced at what it takes to run a theater far away.”
Still Suter is actively searching for someone to take over the theater prior to March 31. He said the right person can make the business succeed, and he would like to see it locally owned.
Suter opened Shirley’s Gourmet Popcorn Company in Bluffton at the end of the summer, and soon realized that business was experiencing far more growth. That, coupled with a young family made the Wapa Theatre too difficult to maintain, he said.
“I have a family with three kids 7 and under, and we just have to do things different to balance our time,” Suter said.
Suter said he had wrestled with the decision for several months and as the holiday season approached, it became clearer something needed to be cut from his life.
Suter plans to run the theater as normal for the next four months before stepping away.
The business owner said theater passes will only be honored at the theater through March 31, but will also be honored at the Shannon Theater through Dec. 31 2010.
The theater and the Brown Building it sits within was built in 1904. It seats approximately 300 people without including balcony seats.
After re-opening the theater on Nov. 21, 2007, Suter said he has enjoyed his time in Wapakoneta, and expressed hopes someone would step up and resume leasing the facility from the building’s owner Bob Wiesenmayer.
“We’ve felt warmly embraced by the Wapak community, and this decision was not an easy one to make,” Suter said. “Quite frankly, it could be a real neat opportunity for someone much closer.”
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 07 December 2009 )
|
