Ritz Theatre changing hands

With the digital age changing the way movie theaters operate, a possible new owner of a local theater hopes to keep its traditions alive while updating its equipment.
The Ritz Theatre, located in downtown Portland since 1989, is in the early stages of changing hands after the owner was prompted to sell by the forced transition from reel projection equipment to digital equipment and the loss of her husband. The theater has begun the process of switching ownership from one area family, the Millers, to another local businessman, Dru Hall.
Current co-owner Janet Miller feels bittersweet about the sale, but said it was time to hand over the reins to someone new.
“I’ll miss it,” said Miller. “But I think it’s good to have somebody new, and they seem to be very enthusiastic about doing it.”
Dr. Charles Miller, Janet’s husband who passed away two years ago, and his friend Mike Volpe came up with the idea for a local movie theater during a casual conversation in 1989.
“My husband … was a dentist here in town, and Mike Volpe, who was an engineer that worked here in town, were eating lunch one day, and those two guys decided that Portland needed a theater,” said Miller. “They just thought the community needed one. … (Chuck) was famous for starting businesses.”
The duo ran with their idea, choosing a downtown building that had at different times housed a Kroger, a furniture store and a dime store, after being built in 1894. After opening the theater that same year, the owners decided to keep prices low for the community so they would be able to bring their families.
“It was never our intent to make money,” said Miller. “It was to provide the theater.”
And that’s exactly what they did, even when it came to holidays.
“One unusual and neat thing we have done over the years is on Thanksgiving Day, when everybody else wants off because it’s Thanksgiving Day, my family — I have four kids — we would go in and run the theater on Thanksgiving Day to keep it open,” said Miller.
To help keep the cost of tickets at about half of what larger theaters charge, the Millers rented out 14 apartments on the second and third floors of the building to help pay for the cost of running the theater.
But with the recent decision by movie studios to only provide digital copies of new releases beginning in 2014 and the theater still on a film reel system, Miller knew it was time to move on from the theater.
“To do both theaters, to put in new projectors, new screens, new sound systems, everything, was going to be like $100,000,” said Miller. “The partner, Mike Volpe, he lives in Florida now … he just had no interest in going digital. My hands were basically tied.”
A recent offer from local businessman Dru Hall granted Miller relief from trying to come up with a back-up plan.
“I just was anxious to find a buyer that was interested in keeping it the way it was and keeping the theater going,” said Miller. “Eventually, I would have just had to find some way to do it, but this is nice that this has worked out.”
Hall saw the possible purchase as a way to conserve an important part of Portland history.
“It’s just a major asset. We’ve seen it on the market for a long time,” said Hall. “Knowing that the deadline was coming, we knew someone was going to have to step up. It’s a challenge to see if we can bring it to its former glory.”
Making an offer on what will be an initial investment for the building and an even larger investment in switching to digital, Hall hopes to bring a resurgence of energy and an influx of money to the theater.
“A lot of towns are doing fundraisers to try and save theaters,” said Hall. “We’re pretty fortunate we’re going to be able to take it to the next step.”
Hall recognized the need for the purchase because without it, the theater may have had a much worse fate, which he didn’t want to see for the community.
“The big investment is the digital system. That has to be. If the changes are not made, it will be shut down,” said Hall.
While a formal offer and paperwork have been filed, the sale isn’t expected to be complete until mid-November, when Hall said he plans to make small cosmetic changes to the building.
Ultimately for Hall, it was a simple decision that he was happy to make for the community.
“We’re moviegoers, and we’d hate to see it go,” said Hall. “With the apartments and the theater, it made pretty good business sense.”

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