CHARLOTTE, Mich. — It's a slow time for movie theaters, but Leann Owen, the owner of Eaton Theatre in Charlotte, is investing money in her business.
"It was a scary time now to do it, when the industry is a little slow, but we needed it," Owen said. "We needed that extra to keep moving forward to show that nothing's going to stop us, we're going to keep going with our plans."
Most recently, the theater got brand new seats, 70 upstairs and 200 downstairs.
"The seats ran $74,000 for upstairs and down," Owen said. "It was a major expense. We were really nervous about that, but we got a really good deal on a loan, we had some grants and we've had some donations over the years to help with improvements."
Owen said she started updating the theater as soon as she bought it in 2018.
"I worked here for 18 years, managing it part-time, and just fell in love with the place," she said. "Being here all these years, I thought about all I would love to do if I ever owned it. So, when I got that chance, the first thing I wanted to do is, 'Okay, let's take down this drop-down ceiling.'"
Owen also repainted the inside of the theater and put the ticket booth back in that was taken out in the '80s.
There are other improvements on the horizon, some of which will be completed next month.
"So the lower marquee will be all lit up with—not neon because it's a little expensive—but, LED, neon-looking lights," Owen said. "Then we're going to put in the vertical Eaton sign, which was originally there in 1931, and that is a replica but it's going to look fairly close to the original. When you look at this, it will be like you stepped back in time."
Owen said the marquee hasn’t been fully lit up since the '30s.
There’s a Facebook group called What’s Happening at the Eaton Theatre if you want to follow along with Owen’s renovations as she makes them.
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