Brian and Ben Mossman
This is a little complicated, but you guys can handle it…
On January 25th the Glenwood Arts Theatre – in what’s left of the Metcalf South shopping mall – will go for a dirt nap. While the exact future of the historic, but mostly empty mall has yet to be determined, what is known, is that it will be torn down.
And no way would the Hardy Boys – I mean Brian and Ben Mossman of the Fine Arts Theatre Group – even consider choking out the kind of dough it takes to lease a brand new movieplex in a brand new mall.
Not gonna happen.
That’s because the Mossman twins have amassed their modest fortunes by rehabbing older, run down theaters on the cheap, mostly with the backing of local movie mogul (financier?) Wade Williams.
At that same time, the five-plex known as The Leawood Theatre in Ranch Mart shopping center at 95th and Mission Road will also buy the farm, but in a far less unseemly manner.
Because, the Glenwood Arts ” is not going to be closed, it’s going to be moved to the Ranch Mart,” Williams confirms. “And it will go from being a three screen art house to a five screen art house.”
As reported earlier this week, The Leawood has been playing mainstream movies since it reopened eight years ago, but has suffered mightily at the hands of AMC Theatres revitalized, state-of-the-art Ward Parkway movie plex. At the same time, “the Glenwood Arts has done a lot of business,” Williams says.
The bottom line:
Glenwood Arts patrons will have to drive a couple miles to get their art house kicks, but they’ll have two more screens to get them in, while Metcalf South developers Lane4 search – likely in vain – for a movie theater tenant for their new retail complex.
Sounds like win-win to me.
Boy hate to see them go. Lots of history. Many of us baby boomers grew up with the Glenwood being the cool theatre back in the day. Man I saw everything from Billy Jack to Star Wars there when it was the big screen nice movie house. Like everything it ages and ends. Like all of us. Nothing lasts forever NOT EVEN FLOWER POT BREAD. Oh its back. Hah.
Well, they’re moving the name and the art films concept to Ranch Mart, so it’s not a total loss
I guess this is no surprise given the previous blog posting. Art film patrons will find their films I’m sure and going a little farther to do so won’t cause much inconvenience.
That said, I do wonder if the Glenwood Arts, benefited from its location, the huge sign on 95th, and the fact that they ran some pretty well-publicized films at times, not just the arthouse stuff. (No Country For Old Men leaps to mind.)
So, what to expect when moving from a highly visible location basically to the back of a crowded strip mall? What I would expect is that attendance could drop off.
Recommend the Mossman brothers and Mr. Williams invest in a well-designed and executed marketing plan.
Wish they had been able to keep their Red Bridge site for the art house films, much better than Ranch Mart location.
Boy I don’t know, Terri…
An art house in Red bridge? That’s not the Red Bridge I remember.