Curtain closes on city’s theater
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 2, 2004
The screen has gone dark at Regal Cahaba Twin Cinema.
At least until new management can be found, according to property owner Alston Keith, Jr.
Since the final credits rolled on “Shark Tale” and “Taxi” nearly two weeks ago, the popcorn popper has remained empty and the doors locked tight.
“My management partner has moved away from Selma,” said Keith. “I’m hoping to find a new tenant.” He added that the small movie theater has been a part of the Selma community on and off for at least 35 years, changing names several times and shutting down on a few occasions. When it first opened, Keith said, it was known as the Jerry Lewis Twin Theater.
Several years later Cobb Theaters took control of operations, followed by the Regal theater company around 1998.
“The movie theater has been closed a few times over the last 30 years (between the company changes),” Keith said.
Keith says Selma has a good market for movie theaters and he is working on finding a new management company to take over the business.
Claire Twardy, executive director of the Selma and Dallas County Chamber of Commerce, said the loss of the movie theater is “something the Chamber is concerned about.”
“We have nothing coming at this time,” she said. “It would be wonderful to have a new theater company come in to serve this area. They would not only serve the people of Selma and Dallas County, but all the other surrounding regions.”
Twardy said helping to find new management for the movie theater, or get a company to build a new one altogether, is one of the issues on the Chamber’s agenda.
Until then, movie-goers will have to make the long drive to Montgomery or Prattville to see their favorite flicks.