ATLANTA — Movie lovers, rejoice! Atlanta's historic Tara Theatre is set to reopen after a brief closure last November.
During a Tuesday night screening at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, the executive director of the Atlanta Film Society announced that the theater would reopen.
A video also played in which Chris Escobar, who owns another historic Atlanta movie theater (The Plaza), announced he would be taking over the operation.
Beloved Atlanta video store Videodrome shared footage of the video on their Instagram page.
In it, Escobar elaborated at what audiences can expect from the theater once it reopens; including not just screening the latest independent, arthouse, and foreign titles but also showing classic films. Similar to The Plaza, the Tara will also be one of the few theaters in the area to project certain titles on 35 and 70mm film, a rarity in today's digital age.
Escobar also humorously promised to return Atlanta born Coca-Cola products to the concession stands, a slight jab at formal owners Regal who are partnered with Pepsi.
Finally, Escobar noted that the theater is looking to pre-sell $50,000 worth of tickets and vouchers before reopening, to help with the revitalization cost. While an exact date for reopening was not specified, Escobar stated that it should be in a few months.
The theater itself has sat on Cheshire Bridge Road for more than 50 years.
Last fall, the theater's previous owner (theater chain Regal) decided to close the Tara, which served as one of the only arthouse cinemas in Atlanta, alongside The Plaza and Midtown Arts Cinema.
The theater industry as a whole struggled throughout the global pandemic, and even though a handful of big-budget blockbusters have brought crowds back to the cinema, many smaller "arthouse" theaters have a continued to have trouble reeling in audiences.