Alhambra Dinner Theatre closes

[CS Foltz]

Gee...........where is the JEDC when you need them! I guess the "Alhambra Dinner Theatre" does not qualify? Maybe Mr Booth is just not connected to the right people? I guess there goes another chunk  of taxable business down the tubes..........maybe they can go else where and I hope that they do!

[thelakelander]

Good question.  How about the city working with them to move them into a downtown facility?  Both would benefit from such a move.  Would the Snyder work?

[77danj7]

ADT in a downtown facility would be great...and maintaining the dinner and show would be a great benefit to the core.  I agree though...the whole buffet thing is just yuck...I'd much rather be served a nice 3 course meal.

Anyways...love to see it moved downtown.

[Charles Hunter]

Don't think the Snyder is big enough for a dinner theater.  Perhaps a small non-dinner theater, but I don't know if the "stage" area would be big enough.  Maybe a small concert venue, or doing plays with limited stage sets.  But, yes, bringing the Alhambra to an appropriate venue downtown would be good.  Make it closer for folks on the westside to attend.

[blizz01]

Optimism remains high on Alhamabra future
Prospective new owner hopes to make an announcement soon

There's still no word on the fate of the Alhambra Dinner Theatre, but the businessman who's trying to buy and reopen it said he hopes to announce its reopening in the next week or two.

Craig Smith said that he's been swamped with support since the story of the theater's closing and his possible purchase appeared in the Times-Union this month. In the story, Smith said he was hoping that 2,500 people would call the theater and express their interest in it reopening.

About 100 people an hour called that first day, he said, and 50 an hour for several days after that. In addition, about 3,500 people have signed onto the Save the Alhambra page on Facebook.

Smith said he's meeting with bankers again next week, and he expects good news.

"Our lawyers assure us we're a week away from making the announcement," he said.

Smith has said that if he's able to purchase it, he'll hire Tod Booth, the theater's owner and director of most of its productions for more than 20 years, to run it.

The theater, which closed Aug. 30 after operating for 42 years, was scheduled to put on "The Odd Couple" followed by "My Fair Lady." If the sale goes through, Smith said he plans to give the restrooms and buffet area a facelift before reopening in November for a shortened run of "The Odd Couple," "just to work the kinks out," he said. Then "A Christmas Carole" would begin on Dec. 1 as originally scheduled.

Those who had purchased tickets for "My Fair Lady" or "The Odd Couple" would be able to redeem them for shows next year, he said. And he said he'd honor all season tickets that have been purchased for next year.

Booth said last week that no decision has been made about possible refunds for season tickets if the sale does not go through.

http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-09-15/story/optimism_remains_high_on_alhamabra_future

[Charles Hunter]

Cautious Good news!

[CS Foltz]

I concur Mr Charles............as you say "cautious" but it is encouraging!

[buckethead]

Coke never sold better than after they "changed the recipe". Once the furor was raised by the public (contrived?) the old brand saw huge rises in sales.

Michael Jackson titles also sold like crazy upon the news of his death.

This could be the catalyst that propels The Alhambra into prosperity.

Moving to a picturesque location couldn't hurt IMO.

[ProjectMaximus]

They just mentioned it on the local news. Craig Smith plans to remodel the building, offer a revamped menu by Matthew Medure, and reopen after Thanksgiving.

I'm sure someone will be able to confirm soon this soon, more or less what blizz's article from this morning says.

[DavidWilliams]

It will be interesting to see what happens. New focus or dinosaur dying out.

[blizz01]

More promising news from The Daily Record:

Jax native working on plan to re-open Alhambra

For Alhambra Dinner Theatre fans and the city, the shows must go on.
That’s the goal of local businessman Craig Smith, who is working on a deal to acquire the iconic cultural institution from longtime owner Tod Booth. Smith said he hopes to have the deal finalized within the next couple weeks.
While owning the business would be a new venture for Smith, he is no stranger to the venue, having grown up attending numerous performances every year since he was a child.
“I grew up on the Westside,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been going since I was 12 ... when I was younger, making the trip always felt like the ‘big city.’ I loved it.”
Smith passed the experience on to his young daughter, Macy, when he took her to her first show when she was three years old and wanted to see “The Wizard of Oz” in 2002. It was an evening neither will forget.
“Tod (Booth) took her backstage to meet Dorothy and Toto,” said Smith, “and her eyes just lit up and she was all ‘oohs and ahs’. She just went crazy.”
He’s taken her to numerous shows since then until it closed in late August and the thought of its absence prompted him to take action once the Booths took him up on his longtime offer for assistance.
“I could not imagine it not being here for her the way it was for me,” he said. “The arts have such a place to expand our cultural horizons ... and going to a place like the Alhambra does that.”
Smith sold his former business, Beaches Limousine and Transportation, in 2006 and has the ability and time to undertake such a venture, he said.
Upon the deal’s completion, though, some things will change.
For years, Smith said he’s noticed certain aspects of the theater have seemed off track, which he believes led to people not returning for the experience he felt is one of the best in the city.
“When you go to a show like this, you want to walk away feeling special,” he explained. “I don’t think enough people felt that way as much ... when I ask people if they go to the Alhambra, I’ve heard people say ‘I used to go, but...’ I want to get rid of those ‘buts.’”
The venue will receive what he calls a cosmetic makeover, with everything from new carpets and utensils to linens, lights and even an exterior paint job.
“No more Pepto Bismol outside,” he said with a laugh.
The physical amenities aren’t the only things getting revamped, as the food is getting a new flavor with the addition of Smith’s longtime friend and Jacksonville chef Matthew Medure.
“I’m really excited about the project,” said Medure. “It’ll be a casual type of cuisine that’s fresh and well presented.”
Medure said the buffet-style cuisine Alhambra patrons associate with dinner theater won’t really change, as much will be based on his buffet-style take-out and sit-down restaurant, Take Away Gourmet, in San Marco.
Since it closed in late August and he began to look into acquiring it, the public support for the Alhambra reopening has poured in. Smith said thousands upon thousands of combined e-mails, phone calls and Facebook comments and acquaintances have reached out in support, which Smith hopes continues.
After the deal goes through and the facelift is complete, Smith said if the public sentiment and reaction translates to actual attendance, he wants to do some extensive long-term remodeling and expansion.
It’s not so much about a profit margin in the venture as it is just seeing it succeed and continue tradition.
“As long as it can pay for itself, it’s a home run,” he said.
Besides finalizing the transaction, Smith has his sights set on Nov. 7. That’s the date he refers to as a “homecoming event” for the venue called “Save the Alhambra,” which will include an outside show, food and other entertainment while acting as a kickoff event.
While he’s been in numerous business deals and ventures over the course of his career, the Alhambra deal is the one he admits to being most excited about â€" for himself, his daughter and the rest of Jacksonville who has experienced the shows or will in the near future.
“By far the most fun thing I’ve done,” he said.
For more information on Alhambra Dinner Theatre, go to www.alhambradinnertheatre.com.

dchapman@baileypub.com

[copperfiend]

Improve the food.

[untarded]

Glad to see this is happening but wish they would relocate to the urban core...hmmm...9th and Main???

[gmpalmer]

Oh yeah, because the owners of 9th and Main are itching to get rid of it or lease it at a reasonable rate.

[stjr]

Good news!

Alhambra Dinner Theatre set to reopen Dec. 1

First show will be “A Christmas Carole,” an annual production at the theatre for more than 20 years
•   BY ROGER BULL
•   STORY UPDATED AT 4:32 PM ON TUESDAY, OCT. 27, 2009

The stage lights at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre are apparently coming back on.

Craig Smith, the Jacksonville businessman who has been trying to buy the Alhambra since it closed two months ago, said he and his partners have finally finalized all the paperwork. The theater will reopen on Dec. 1 with “A Christmas Carole,” the production it’s done each December for more than 20 years.

The Alhambra opened in 1967 and was one of the nation’s oldest dinner theaters when it closed in August. Tod Booth, who had owned the theater since 1985, said the economic downturn took too big a toll on his attendance and finances to continue.

Smith, former co-owner of Beaches Limousine and Transportation until he sold it in 2006, is the managing member of a group of investors called Theatre Partners, which now owns the theater.

Booth will continue to produce the plays and musicals, but Smith will be in charge of the rest of business. A few renovations, including painting the outside of the building, have already begun.

Restaurateur Matthew Medure will be in charge of the food.

The theater will hold a welcome back celebration at 2:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Nov. 7 outside the theater.

More details will appear in Wednesday’s Times-Union.

http://jacksonville.com/business/2009-10-27/story/alhambra_dinner_theatre_set_to_reopen_dec_1