Statement from owners of Varsity Theater (yes, it’s closing tonight)
Buster Keaton in Sherlock, Jr., released in 1924—several years before movies began playing at the present site of the Varsity Theater.
Just an hour ago, Bruce and Mary Jo Stone, the owners of the Varsity Theater on Franklin Street, released a written statement confirming the closing of the theater. Although the document doesn’t specify the effective date, presumably the theater will close after tonight’s final showings of The Hangover and The Brothers Bloom.
In the statement, signed by Bruce Stone, several factors are cited. First,
[T]he numbers currently don’t support the continuation of both theaters [the Varsity and the Chelsea, also owned by the Stones] as viable enterprises. The Varsity especially has been struggling for over two years, with no prospect of an upturn any time soon. Although the film exhibition business is a highly variable, feast or famine sort of business, the assumption has always been the feasts and famines eventually even one another out. However, there has been much more famine in recent years, with the summers being especially difficult.
The statement goes on to discuss changes in the business model that make it hard for specialty theaters to survive against multiplexes. Citing a May article in Variety , Stone writes,
[Specialty distributors] still in business prefer to withhold their prestige product until the fall winter awards season. When an indy film suddenly gains traction and becomes successful with a wider audience (or “crosses over”), the distributors quickly book these films into multiplexes everywhere, thereby undercutting the business being done at the specialty theaters.
The statement also explains why exhibiting mainstream Hollywood movies is no panacea, noting that the Varsity can’t compete with the multiplexes at Southern Village, Timberlyne and Southpoint mall under present distribution conditions, and especially with the lack of convenient and free parking on Franklin Street.
The statement goes on to note that the specialty audience tends to be older, and thus more uncomfortable with the rigors of traveling downtown: “A portion of this audience …. [is] troubled by the parking and traffic, by the street life, and even by the odors and objects that decorate the downtown walkways.”
And finally, Stone offers what he allows might be a more subjective observation: “It seems that the college audience has become less and less interested in specialty films over the years. I am told that it’s because of Netflix, or computers, or a more generalized predilection for the glossier multiplexes and an appetite for the comforts of mass culture …. or maybe it’s just the economy.”
The statement closes with thanks to the community and the theater’s landlord James Rumfelt, along with a note that requests for interviews will be declined.
17 Comments
I am so saddened by this news. Franklin Street needs a revitalization. Devastating.
— Allison 25 June 2009
Oh no! I was so looking forward to seeing a movie there when I came back to school!
— Kaitlin 25 June 2009
[...] blog at the Independent reported this afternoon that the Varsity Theater in Chapel Hill will be closing tonight. The [...]
— Bull City Real Estate » Blog Archive » Varsity Theater to Close Tonight 25 June 2009
As the owner of a business that used to be on Franklin Street [right across the street, in fact], I’m certainly sorry to see the Varsity go. I wish the Stones good luck in whatever they do from here.
The Varsity’s closing, however, highlights something that has been true about Franklin Street for years. The Town of Chapel Hill wants the area to move away from being a series of bars and restaurants, but can’t/won’t provide the infrastructure to make a business focused on non-students work. To revitalize downtown, one has to provide a reason for people to come into Chapel Hill from the surrounding areas. And that, like it or not, means better traffic flow and parking.
— Steve Nicewarner 25 June 2009
i worked at the chelsea and varsity while attending unc. i am so sad to hear the varsity will close. bruce stone was the best boss imaginable - i only hope the best for him and his family. i am so sad for this loss to franklin street!
— samantha faircloth 26 June 2009
I am so sad to learn today that yet another downtown Chapel Hill landmark has closed its dooors. I moved to Chapel Hill shortly after graduating from college in 1971 and have seen so many of the old businesses close during the past thirty years. Places like The NC Cafeteria, where, as a graduate student, I used to eat lunch at long communal tables, elbow to elbow with faculty and staff and other students. The Porthole, with its incredibly delicious warm rolls and big glasses of sweet iced tea. Foister’s Camera Store. Huggins’ Hardware. The Carolina Theater. The Intimate Bookshop. Rose’s. Belk’s. These were places that provided goods and services that you actually needed, unlike most of what exists downtown today.
I especially remember when The Varsity screened the American Film Institute’s subscription series of filmed versions of classic American drama by playwrights like Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee Williams. I was so excited to be able to see films of this calibre in a downtown movie house right here in Chapel Hill. It all seems like a very, very long time ago now.
I know change is inevitable and I am grateful to have had The Varsity for as long as we did. My life in Chapel Hill was greatly enriched by its presence. I feel a deep loss.
I’d like to encourage all lovers of art-house and independent films to get out and actively support The Chelsea. It needs us! Cancel your NetFlix subscription! Get up off your sofa! Start going out to the movies again, in the company of others like yourselves, in the place these films were made to be viewed. The movie theater. Goodbye, Varsity. You will be missed.
— Judy Via 3 July 2009
My husband and I met in New Orleans in the late 80s and found that during college at Loyola and Tulane we had regularly attended the Film Buffs Institute. We were thrilled when we moved to Durham and learned about the Varsity and Chelsea offerings and now we are deflated and disappointed to learn we can’t make a date night at the Varsity today!! So sad for all of us and sad to know the UNC-Duke student body hasn’t Shown Up to Represent the Hangry-for-Culture demographic college students should represent. Thank you Varsity Theatre owners and staff for being there. We will miss your presence dearly.
— emily cox 5 July 2009
Really too bad. It’s not so much because it was a landmark of Franklin street, but mostly because it was one of the only places where you could see something else than the crappy movies you see everywhere. Hope the Chelsea will survive (with a better sound system than now though!), otherwise, we’ll have to go up to Cary (Galaxy) to see something interesting. “It seems that the college audience has become less and less interested in specialty films over the years”: students, please stop conformism and mass consumption and preserve your cultural diversity!
— Sam 5 July 2009
First the Carolina Theater, then the Rathskeller, and now the Varsity - just to name a few. What has become of Chapel Hill these days? Well, none of this surprises me. In recent years Chapel Hill has been loosing its quaintness and charm with each passing business. The loss of all such enclaves of identity has an accumulative effect on the overall vibe of the town.
The town is seemingly going down hill. Does anyone notice how poorly the city has been maintaining the roadsides and medians? In truth, Chapel Hill has become a bit of a cesspool.
The problem of course is vast and deeply bound in socio-economic and political forces going much beyond “Netflix.”
Nevertheless, until people decide to care more about the community they live in (instead of just deriving civic pride from their sports teams and nothing else), we can expect to see a diminishing town character that will eventually lead to Chapel Hill being nothing more than a sprawling mass of generic buildings and housing units, designed to appease the temporal needs of the transient yuppie class.
— Damian 6 July 2009
The closing of the Varsity is another chip off of what makes Chapel Hill what it is, a place with a unique culture shared with a diverse and discriminating cast of characters. The charm, and the richness of the ‘Hill is in its penchant for avoiding the mundane. I too enjoyed many an off-the-wall, horizon expanding film on its screen. Some places just aren’t supposed to be lined with golden arches. Long live the Hill (as we know it!)
Thank you to the Stones for many a good memory.
— Barbara 12 July 2009
one of the reasons i moved my family business was because of the rich quality of life that chapel hill offered. the varsity theatre was a part of our decision to move here and i just got back from out-of-town and i am just dismayed that we have lost a part of what made our new life here so pleasant. we will miss you, varsity.
— the soleils 31 July 2009
It’s too bad someone can’t make a go of the Varsity the way the Boulder Theater does. Boulder Theater hosts bands, film festivals, movie nights, and serves beer and popcorn.
— Robert 7 August 2009
Okay, how about if anyone knows the Real Estate Owners or maybe perhaps like to see if we can do any thing can be done to purchase the place and to make a go of it…of course re-tuned…and all…
Jacques #919-403-5400 ext 107
— Jacques 18 August 2009
What’s the latest news on the Varsity? A followup story with info about it’s future or current availability would be greatly appreciated.
— Ryan 7 October 2009
I wonder if the increase in the minimum wage had anything to do with the decision to close.
Does anyone think labor is worth $7.25 when all you have to do is scoop popcorn, fix sodas, hand over candy, make change and sweep up the theater?
When we are all concerned about theoretical wage earner with 2 kids needing to have a minimum wage to survive, we forget that if a business cannot bear the cost of the higher labor, that labor is eliminated. I hope the folks who worked the concessions learn this lesson in macroeconomics and vote Republican next time.
— Stephen 2 November 2009
@Stephen
If you’ll read the statement issued by the Stones, you’ll notice that they say not a word about minimum wage. But let’s consider your contention: It takes three to four people to run a two-screen movie theater for a five-hour shift. Let’s say four people, times five hours, times $7.25. That’s $145. And let’s say you could find four reliable people to do the work for $5 an hour. That’s $100. The difference is $45. Tickets are $8. Let’s estimate that the average buyer spends $2 at the concession stand, thus spending a total of $10. So the difference, $45, amounts to four and a half paying customers, or one ticket per show in this two-screen theater that shows each film twice in a five-hour shift. In their statement, the Stones identify numerous structural problems with the business. The issue of the wages they pay their often quite dedicated workers, which goes unmentioned in their statement, is pretty trivial. And I doubt that voting Republican so that the minimum wage might be eliminated will be the first thing that comes to the minds of the good workers at the Varsity.
@Ryan
Check this out: http://www.indyweekblogs.com/triangulator/2009/10/24/varsity-theatre-to-reopen-next-month/
— David Fellerath 2 November 2009
[...] been a little over four months since the owners of the Varsity Theatre announced they were shuttering the Franklin Street staple. Residents were sad to see the landmark close, lamenting that downtown was officially without a [...]
— Ginny from the Blog » Blog Archive » Chapel Hill’s Varsity Theatre to reopen Thanksgiving weekend 11 November 2009