The Little Guy Wins Again!

Neighbourhood theatres are rapidly closing all over North America.  Multiplexes, those glitzy, glamourous purveyors of 12, 15, 20 silver screens full of eye-popping thrills and chills are now the twinkle in the public eye (scriptwriters need not apply).  And then there's digital replacing film just like downloads destroyed CDs.  At $60,000 a pop for digital upgrade, most little guys just can't compete.  Such is evolution in a free market economy.

But OMG, in Livermore, Silicone Valley, population 82,000, the 57 year old Vine Cinema is reborn!  No early retirement, bulldozer, condo development for the Vine.  It's more profitable now, inspite of a glitzy 13 screen multiplex that opened in 2007, less than half a mile away.  But how?

Their success began with some good luck.  The theatre's silent partner owned the property so there were no monthly rent cheques.  This gave the co-owner operator time to build a solid business plan.  And he was born in Livermore so he knew the community.  He joint-ventured with a local craft brewery and restaurant and transformed a traditional popcorn and soda movie theatre into a cinema experience serving beer, wine and full-course meals.  He remodeled the theatre to fit tables and sofas.  Film was replaced by a digital upgrade (through local financing).  Then he switched to independent and art films to attract a more mature, sophisticated audience.  Above all, the owners did not stop with this successful model; their format continuously changes to meet community demand.

They started showing live sporting events, including Raiders and 49ers games;  midnight screenings of "The Rocky Horror Show";  classic movie series;  movie singalongs.  And then the piece de resistance ------------the Oscars party!  This annual sellout mirrors all the red-carpet glamour of the Hollywood original.  Black tie and tails, champagne, flash-bulb photography, search lights, assigned seating, "the whole nine yards".  Ellen De Generes eat your heart out.

So the future looks bright.  The local Livermore newspaper noted:  "The Vine is a great example of a business that really had to change in order to survive, and which has done a beautiful job.  They've found an original niche here, and the community has embraced them because of it".

But the most important endorsement comes from a patron:  "We'll watch whatever you're playing.  We just want to come to the Vine".