The three-screen movie theater inside the Yard Birds Mall in Chehalis is about to undergo a $1.5 million renovation into an eight-screen multiplex with the capacity of seating nearly 1,000 people.
Construction should begin in 30 to 90 days and will take three to five months to complete.
A celebration complete with cake will be held April 22, at the site in the company of the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce.
The partners behind the project are Daryl Lund and Jim Rothlin, both of Chehalis.
The men currently operate the theater inside Yard Birds, now dubbed Chehalis Cinemas, which they took over when Regal Cinemas opted not to renew its lease last autumn.
The men are leasing the space for the theaters, though they own the business. Lund also owns the historic Chehalis Theater in downtown Chehalis.
"Our reason for getting involved with the Yard Birds theaters and expanding to an eight-screen multiplex is simple," said Lund. "We either can grow or we can die. If we don't expand, someone else will come into town and build a big theater, and the old Chehalis Theater could be pushed out of business. By adding to this theater, we will monopolize the local movie industry."
Lund and Rothlin feel confident the theater will be a success that will attract moviegoers from the local area and from out of town.
"This theater is going to give locals a reason to stay in town to see movies instead of going to Olympia or Longview and spending their money there, not only at theaters, but also at restaurants and shops," said Lund.
Rothlin added they hope the theater will also draw people from the Olympia and Longview areas.
"This is going to be one of the nicest, most modern theaters around," said Rothlin.
The men have already made some changes to the existing theater, such as sound improvements and stadium risers.
The current Chehalis Cinemas is taking up 7,500 square feet inside the Yardbirds Mall, and the expansion will make the cinema facility about 18,000 square feet of the roomy mall.
Of the five new screens Lund and Rothlin are planning, two will seat 178, one will seat 104, and two others will seat 48.
"It's going to give us some great options," said Rothlin. "First of all, we are going to be able to show more movies. And when a really big movie comes out, like Harry Potter, we will be able to put the film in one projector and show it on two separate screens to over 300 people at the same time. The movie would show about fifteen seconds apart on the two screens."
Additionally the smaller theaters would be used for movies that are still drawing in crowds, but not the large crowds brought in when they first open.
"We will be able to keep some movies a little longer for the people who haven't had a chance to see them, or we could show movies that don't appeal to a large audience but that are still good movies that people here would want to see," explained Lund.
Lund and Rothlin also plan to renovate the outside entryway to the Chehalis Cinemas.
"We want a nice, colorful, impressive entrance with neon and stuff, something that draws people's attention and says 'look at me,'" said Lund.
"This is very exciting for us, who knows what we'll do next, maybe get the Fox running again," chuckled Lund, referring to the dormant city-owned historic theater in downtown Centralia.
Amy Emerson covers energy, business and economic issues for The Chronicle. She may be reached by e-mail at aemerson@chronline.com, or by telephoning 807-8231.
