The final cut

The credits have stopped rolling, the performers have quietly left the scene, and the lights are out. Grandin Theatres has closed.

On Wednesday morning, moviegoers could still call the local movie theatre and listen to a recording of its show times. Billboards outside the building on Sir Winston Churchill Avenue advertised the same.

But inside, general manager Amy Woloszyn was packing up boxes. Much of the interior of the front room had already been cleaned out, but for the concession stand, which still looked semi-intact.

Woloszyn said she cannot comment on the closure, but advised that the owners will be in touch.

Meanwhile, on social media, a member of the family that owns the theatre, Jo-Anne Sutton Van Bruggen, wrote the new owner of Grandin Park Plaza, Amacon, has given them “the boot.”

“We fought long and hard for St. Albert but I guess you can't fight progress,” she wrote. “They begin demolition June 1st. Sorry folks we can't compete with the big boys. We are done.”

Her public Facebook page shows pictures of theatre staff and family members on May 26, apparently saying good-bye to the theatre.

The theatre itself has not advertised the closure on its website. A former Facebook page seems to have been taken down.

Development firm Amacon is planning to redevelop Grandin Park Plaza, the parkade and theatre into an urban village. The buildings will be demolished during the first phase of the development, starting this summer.

Rumours of the theatre's closure had started spreading earlier this month but at the time Woloszyn said a definitive date for the closure had not been set.

“The owners are still discussing (the closure) with Amacon but it definitely will not be on May 31,” she said.

Now it's closed for good.

More information to follow…