FeedsWestland Showcase Cinema will show final movie Sunday
Residents interested in spending a few hours at the movies will need to leave the city to do it after Showcase Cinemas Westland closes permanently Sunday.
Rumors of the closure have been circulating throughout the community since Feb. 19, when Westland Mayor Bill Wild told the Westland City Council and the assembled residents that his office had received information hinting that the cinema would be closed in March.
As late as Monday evening, however, Wild said that he had been unable to confirm that information with National Amusements, the Massachusetts-based company that owns and operates the Showcase Cinemas Westland. Wanda Whitson, spokesperson for National Amusements, answered a request for comment for this story on Monday with a one-sentence statement.
“This move is under consideration, but a date has not been set,” she said at the time.
According to a written statement received Tuesday from National Amusements, however, the theater “will close for business on Sunday, March 2…after the last show.” The statement goes on to explain that, “the decision to close the theater…was made because the theater operation was no longer financially viable.”
The eight-screen theater, which originally opened on Dec.8, 1989, employs 20 people.
“Our employees are very important to us, and this is not a decision we make lightly,” said Whitson. “We are making every effort to find these employees other opportunities within our company. We also wish to thank our loyal patrons who have shared great movies and memories with us over the years.”
National Amusements also operates cinemas in Ann Arbor, Flint, and Burton. Whitson indicated Tuesday that, at that time, the company did not anticipate any additional closures in the state.
“Obviously, it’s a sad day for us,” said Wild on Tuesday. “We had hoped to convince them to stay.”
He added that the way that the decision was handled concerned him as well.
“I’m a little disappointed that they have not contacted us,” he said, adding that his calls to National Amusements had—at least until that point—gone unreturned. “I thought we had a pretty good relationship with them.”
Whitson was unable to comment on what prompted the corporation to abandon a previously discussed plan to reinvest in the facility to make it better able to compete with similar businesses. In January of this year, representatives for National Amusements, Inc contacted the City of Westland about the possibility of making some changes to the Showcase Cinemas Westland.
Representatives of the company approached city council members about the possibility of obtaining an entertainment permit—a statutory necessity in order for the company to obtain a liquor license—as part of a plan to renovate seven of the eight existing theaters and install stadium seating with accompanying tables and to turn the eighth area into a full service kitchen. The cinema would then offer table service and the opportunity for cocktails within the theaters themselves. The proposal was ultimately withdrawn from the council agenda at the request of National Amusements, who could not attend the council meeting. It was postponed indefinitely.
Although the decision will leave the facility vacant beginning next week, the written statement released by National Amusements indicated that the company is “interested in redevelopment of the property for alternative uses or sale of the property”.
The site will become the second vacant theater within the city.
The Quo Vadis was closed in 2002 by National Amusements, which purchased it in 1986.
