NORTH OGDEN -- There will be about 500 more seats for movie watching in the Top of Utah coming this May. Walker Cinemas in North Ogden is adding two more screens, both featuring stadium seating.
The larger of the new rooms will seat 324 and have a 49-1âÑ2 foot screen that will be equipped with the latest 3-D technology.
Kerry Walker and his two siblings own three theaters: an eight-screen in Perry, a discount theater in Logan and the North Ogden theater. Walker bought the North Ogden theater in February 2009 with the idea to expand it.
"It's hard to make a four-plex successful when it is a small, independent theater," Walker said. He expects the expansion to cost about $1.3 million.
The theater has stayed open during the expansion work. During the day the lobby area transforms into a major work space and things are cleaned up to a point where the business can be open for movie patrons.
"I have to keep running, otherwise I will have no profit," Walker laughed.
Walker has promised that he will keep his ticket prices and concessions lower than what the bigger theaters charge.
"That's one thing everybody always asks, if I will be raising my prices," Walker said. Currently an adult evening ticket costs $6.50, $4.50 for a matinee and $4.50 for seniors and children.
Walker is trying to overcome a conflict with the city over signs for the theater. Currently a small sign is in the parking strip with a bigger sign right above the theater. Walker would like to put in a bigger sign, similar to his Perry Cinemas sign, which is about 100 feet by 100 feet.
North Ogden's ordinance allows for a only 32-square-foot sign, which Walker doesn't believe is big enough.
"I can't tell you how many people say they drive right by the theater," Walker said. At a recent council meeting, he discussed amending the ordinance for theater signs specifically so he could have the bigger sign.
He was told that it probably wouldn't be possible to push any kind of change through before his May 15 grand opening of the new screens.
Walker has been impressed with the support he has received from the community in North Ogden. "When we first opened, people praised us and thanked us for reopening the doors. They also knew the Walker name," he said.
Comments