Score one for resourcefulness: The Route 66 Movie Theatre in downtown Webb City, Missouri, is selling items from its concession stand — including fresh-popped popcorn — while the venue remains closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Joplin Globe newspaper in nearby Joplin:
“We really developed the idea based on our desire for some movie popcorn at home,” said Scott Hutson, owner and operator of the downtown theater. “We figured if we were craving it, others were as well.”
And it’s not just popcorn. Icees, soft drinks, candy, hamburgers, hot dogs and pretzels can all be purchased from the theater […] The theater is open from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
And it’s not just popcorn. Icees, soft drinks, candy, hamburgers, hot dogs and pretzels can all be purchased from the theater […]. Everything that one would typically want from a concession stand […] can be delivered via curbside service. The theater is open from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
“Right now people can just pull up and honk or call, and we can run it right out,” Hutson said.
Prices are a large popcorn for $6.75 and a large drink for $4.50. If you haven’t been to a theater in a while, those prices are reasonable. And one should remember concessions are where theaters generate much of their profits.
Hutson said he’s gotten a lot of inquiries from locals about whether he’s OK and whether the venue will resurface. He said he’s waiting for the all-clear from health officials to reopen, and he’s optimistic that business will be brisk once he begins selling tickets for movies again.
Almost all theaters across the United States are closed as non-essential businesses in an effort to slow the pandemic.
Given this little revenue-maker while theaters are shuttered, other movie venues along the Mother Road probably ought to consider adopting the curbside-concessions idea, too.
According to Cinema Treasures, the theater at 24 S. Main St. (aka Route 66) in Webb City was part of the Newland Hotel and converted into the Larsen Theatre in 1945. After it was sold, the theater sat empty for years but was restored by a local family music group in 1999. They renamed the theater the Route 66 Music Theatre with live music as the primary source of entertainment.
It was sold and renovated in 2003, but the theater closed again after less than a year. It was purchased in 2005 by the Hutsons.
(Image of the Route 66 Movie Theatre in downtown Webb City, Missouri, via Facebook)
“Prices are a large popcorn for $6.75 and a large drink for $4.50.” Some of the “essentials” of daily life?
“Fire damages Grants theater. A malfunctioning popcorn machine is believed to be the cause of a fire that damaged the historic West Theatre in on Route 66 downtown Grants, N.M., on Friday, reported the Albuquerque Journal.” A bad omen?
Why is it a bad omen if the Grants theater fire occurred 10 years ago and the theater there still is intact?
We can’t blame people for looking for ideas in these difficult times. We, the travelers of the 66, we all like to see the iconic attractions along the road. But we have to bear in mind, the Route is not an open air museum. These are real businesses where real people are trying to make a living.
Fred from the Netherlands.
Ask the Greeks!
I would have hoped they would have had more reasonable prices, say $3 large popcorn and $2.50 large drink. They’d sale more if they did.
The reason for the high prices in the theater are to offset the cost of first-run movies where the theater gets almost nothing for the first two weeks.