'We're in for the long haul' says new owner of Oswego's Kendall 11 theater

UPDATED 3 P.M. MONDAY, JULY 20:

OSWEGO – Ownership is about to change hands for an Oswego movie theater that remains closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Chris Johnson, president of Classic Cinemas, confirmed Friday, July 17, that the company bought the Kendall 11 GDX movie theater at 95 Fifth St., that was formerly owned by Michigan-based Goodrich Quality Theaters, Inc. He said Classic Cinemas is still working out more details about the changeover, including what this means for staff at the movie theater.

"But yes, 100% true, that we're taking it over," Johnson said.

The update comes after Goodrich Quality Theaters applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. According to Tuesday federal court documents, a judge filed an order authorizing an asset purchase agreement between Goodrich Quality Theaters, Inc. and Goodrich Theater Newco, LLC, saying Goodrich Theater Newco submitted a bid for all assets of Goodrich Quality Theaters except for the Kendall 11 theater.

The website for Kendall 11 GDX movie theater said earlier this month the theater remained temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and will remain closed "until state and local government health departments deem appropriate to open for business."

As of 1 p.m. Friday, The Kendall 11 theater was no longer listed on the Goodrich Quality Theaters parent website. As of 1:45 p.m. Friday, Record Newspapers did not receive a news release regarding the change from the company and the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Record Newspapers.

Goodrich Quality Theaters owned the building on Fifth Street in Oswego as of the 2019 tax year, according to Kendall County property tax records. Goodrich Quality Theaters owed $133,273.79 for the 2019 tax year and still hasn't paid the first installment for that yet. Kendall County Treasurer Jill Ferko confirmed via email on July 6 that Goodrich Quality Theaters did not apply for a property tax interest and penalties waiver.

Johnson said the company closed on the property on July 10 and the company is looking to retain the Kendall 11 general manager that was already there as of March. Though several workers have already moved on since the theater closed in mid-March due to the pandemic, he said, the thought was to bring back about 20 workers that employed at the theater through Goodrich Quality Theaters previously.

Johnson said the company also is looking to bring back about 20 workers that previously were employed at the Classic Cinemas Ogden 6 Theatre in Naperville, which showed its last films on March 16. He said the Ogden location closed after the landlord terminated the lease and sold the property to Costco and a petition started floating around shortly after for the theater to be saved.

“We had quite the public outcry to do it," Johnson said. "We just weren’t able to do it.”

Johnson said the hope is for the Oswego theater to re-open next month to correspond with anticipated movie release dates, including the spy film "Tenet" written and directed by Christopher Nolan. However, he said, that re-opening timeline is a little fluid because movie release dates keep changing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the meantime, Johnson said, the company is looking to tweak some policies for the theater, including no upcharges for popcorn and Icee refills and switching from Pepsi to Coke products. He said the company also is looking at applying for a liquor license from the village of Oswego, along with lowering adult ticket prices by about a dollar.

“We’re in for the long haul– this will clear up, but we need to manage the costs so we don’t open and don’t have new movies and sustainable audience," Johnson said, referring to the pandemic. "We want to do this right, so whatever that takes.”

• This story has been updated to include more information since the initial Friday, July 17, 2020 announcement.