Bijou Art Cinemas 492 E 13th Ave Eugene or
The Bijou Art Cinemas on Eastward 13th Avenue in Eugene has closed its doors, co-ordinate to an announcement from the theater edifice's owners.
The Bijou, an independent movie house in the Wilcox Edifice at 492 E. 13th Ave., had been showing movies on its two screens since 1981.
"We are saddened past the permanent closure of the Bijou (Art) Picture palace," said Darren Rock, a co-owner of the Jennings Group, a existent manor visitor that acts equally the managing and leasing agent for the building'southward possessor, Wilcox Venture LLC.
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The Bijou leased the space from Wilcox, which has taken control of the six,000-square-pes space.
"The theater's longtime, positive bear upon on the community and its connexion to the lives of many Eugenians went well across a place to encounter a motion-picture show," Stone said.
Theater operator Julie Blonshteyn, who bought the Bijou Art Cinemas with Catherine Moraetis in 2016, did not respond Thursday to requests for annotate.
The Bijou closed its doors because of COVID-19 a year agone, almost to the twenty-four hour period, on March 17, 2020. The theater continued to serve its audition virtually and teamed up with several art-house production companies to stream films from its website while it was airtight.
In a May 28 Annals-Guard story about how Eugene'due south independent theaters were faring during the pandemic shutdown, Blonshteyn and other owners were placing importance on making sure to guarantee confidence and comfort for their clientele before reopening.
"The majority of our patrons tend to be older, and we attempt to exist attuned to the needs of our most vulnerable customers, so we're going to be really thoughtful about decisions around reopening," Blonshteyn said in May.
However, Stone said that Blonshteyn made him aware of her conclusion to no longer operate the theater "a few months ago."
"They only decided that they didn't want to do it anymore," Stone said.
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The edifice, synthetic in 1925, was Eugene's First Congregational Church. It became a mortuary in 1956. The edifice was repurposed in 1981 and opened every bit the Bijou Fine art Cinemas under prior ownership, specializing in foreign, fine art and classic films.
Blonshteyn, who moved to Eugene from Brooklyn, took over ownership of the Bijou in 2016 when it separated from the Bijou downtown theater on West Broadway, which was renamed Broadway Metro.
"I'd never been to such a beautiful building for a movie theatre," Blonshteyn said in a 2016 interview with The Register-Guard.
Back in May, even though the Bijou was not generating revenue, Blonshteyn maintained the picture palace would make it through the tough time every bit she was encouraged by the outpouring of regional support.
"At that place is and so much love for the Bijou from the community. It'south truly heartwarming," Blonshteyn said. "The Bijou is truly a labor of dearest for its 2 female person owners. Our devotion to film and picture palace has revitalized i of Eugene's well-nigh honey and valuable local businesses. We volition go along to fight for this jewel of a theater and we will persevere."
Stone with the Jennings Group stressed he hopes to find a new operator for the theater that can pace in soon.
Due to the iconic nature of the theater, Stone said he hopes information technology wouldn't accept long to find someone new to take over.
"It'south not uncommon for me to be just out in the business world, and at one of the boards I serve on, you hear a story well-nigh someone getting married in the courtyard of the building, or going on a first date at the Bijou, because it really was this hip university pic identify," he said.
"There's a tremendous amount of dearest for information technology, and then I'm hoping that's going to be a real asset for anyone trying to make the decision on whether to open upward there."
Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com or 541-521-2498, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.
Source: https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/2021/03/18/independent-bijou-art-cinemas-closes-owners-seeking-new-operator/4756588001/
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