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 To go inside and catch that luscious smell of popcorn with extra
butter and see staff behind the counter waiting to scoop you up some
is even more exciting.
Indeed, after a long hiatus the Lincoln Grand Theater is once again
open and ready to serve our community with quality entertainment in
the form of the latest Hollywood releases.
The Grand officially opened last Thursday and according to Director
of Operations for VIP Cinemas Josh Ward, Lincoln Grand has been a
good fresh start for the theater. Ward said that there has been a
good turnout of movie goers in the first few days. He noted that the
foot traffic over the weekend was busy, but not overwhelming.
The Lincoln Grand has been purchased by VIP Cinemas, which owns and
operates 15 theaters. The company has been in business for 10 years
and has knowledge and experience in what it takes to keep a small
town theater productive.
Ward said that one of the first things they did was look at the
previous price structure at the Lincoln Grand 8, and adjust the
admission costs downward.
Weekday matinees are only $4.99 per person. Evenings during the week
are $5.99 and weekend evening tickets are $6.99 each. Ward said that
the VIP Buckets of popcorn are very popular and commented, “You
people sure love your popcorn!” Indeed it is a special worth taking
advantage of if you do love your popcorn. Buy into the VIP Cinema
Bucket Club for $12.95 and get $2 refills for all of 2021. There is
also “Senior Monday” and “Tuesday All Day” special pricing for a
little more incentive for people to enjoy a movie during the week.
No admission is charged for toddlers under the age of two years old,
so coming to the show is definitely babysitter optional.
Ward said that right now the Grand is operating four of its eight
movie rooms, all in the newest part of the theater building. He
added that the fifth viewing room in the new section should be up
and running in the near future as there were some technical
equipment issues that have to be addressed. The future plans for the
older section of the building are not yet determined.
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|
 Ward noted that he personally
will not be staying at the Lincoln Grand. The
company brings in an experienced person to get
the new locations up and running smoothly, then
a search is conducted for a local person to take
over site management. He said that will probably
be done within the next month or so, as things
are going well.
He said it was also noteworthy to mention that
there is at least one very familiar face back at
the theater. Richard Casad, who ran the original
Lincoln Theater for several years, is back on
the payroll in a part time position.
Ward said that there were many guests who had
been excited and happy to see Richard’s familiar
face back at the theater.
The theater opened last week with four top rated
films, Black Widow, Boss Baby, Cruella and F9.
These movies are scheduled to play into next
week.
The Lincoln Grand is located at 225 South
Kickapoo in Lincoln. Theater hours are Monday
through Thursday, 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Weekend
hours for Friday through Sunday are 10 a.m. to
8:30 p.m. There are multiple show times for each
movie and schedules are posted on the theater
website and Facebook pages. Tickets are also
sold in advance online via the website.
Visit the website at
Lincoln
Cinemas.
Ward said that the process of opening the
theater is one step at a time. Movies are
playing. The website and social media is now up
and running and soon the theater will have an
official phone number.
As it is with any business, the support of the
community is what is needed to keep the doors
open at the Lincoln Grand.
Ward said that excitement is high for the
re-opening right now, and he hopes that the
support will continue after the newness wares
off. With lower prices, new releases, and the
same beautiful and comfortable theater that we
all remember, the incentive to stay local for
movie going opportunities should be high.
A ribbon cutting ceremony is being planned for
Friday, July 23rd. Time and details to be
announced.
 All are encouraged to come out and support this
new push to have a successful theater in
Lincoln.
[Nila Smith] |
