Christopher Escobar is a name everyone in Atlanta’s film world knows. As co-owner of the Plaza Theatre and the Tara Theatre, he helped turn two historic cinemas into arthouse hubs for film fanatics and casual moviegoers alike.
Now he’s got a new venture — theater management in Cleveland, Ohio.
With a small group of Plaza and Tara co-owners and operators, Escobar has taken over management for the three-screen historic Capitol Theater in Cleveland’s Gordon Square Arts District.
It might seem random, but Escobar thinks the Capitol Theater is a perfect addition to his roster. The theater opened in 1921 as a silent movie house with a Wurlitzer organ. In the 1930s, it became a “talkie” theater. Then it closed in the 1980s.
The Capitol Theater reopened in 2009, as a small all-digital movie theater owned by a nonprofit. But last year, the nonprofit issued a press release: the theater was struggling and needed to find a new approach.
So Escobar reached out. He told the Capitol about his two movie theaters – how the Tara is one of the area’s “top improving theaters,” and how the Plaza has doubled its sales from before the pandemic.
He wanted to share the “secret sauce.”
“It’s not any one thing,” Escobar clarified. “It’s really like 10 different things, and when you do all those things, it makes for a successful theater.”
But why share the wisdom? It’s simple. Escobar saw potential.
Like the Plaza, the Capitol only has three screens. But it has a larger seating capacity than the beloved Atlanta institution. It also sits in a prime location. There’s double the population in the same radius as the Plaza, and the arts district status comes with added financial benefits. Plus, it was a historic theater, just like the Plaza and Tara.
“Those are really good conditions,” Escobar said.
He was already looking to form a management company, too. So he created Arthouse Management alongside his team: Richard Martin, programming director for the Plaza and part-owner of both theaters; Kristin Anderson, part-owner and marketing and events director for both theaters; and Mike Spaeth, Plaza and Tara booker and partner for the Tara.
Richard Martin will become the Capitol’s new programming director, and Mike Spaeth will serve as the theater’s managing director. They will work alongside a list of contractors and part-time employees, as well as the existing Capitol Theater staff.
“It’s been a really subtle trade,” Escobar said.
Arthouse Management officially took over about a week ago. The staff stayed on board, and the interior looks the same. The theater still has its identity; the name is unchanged. But there are slight updates for a keen eye. The website now looks reminiscent of the Tara Theatre’s online portal, and the programming will soon be updated. The staff will even get raises.
“We’re going to be taking over the running of the building, the programming, the marketing, the development, the special events, all that kind of stuff,” Escobar said.
He boils down the secret sauce of his theaters’ success to two main areas: the theater and the extensive programming.
Currently, the Capitol Theater only plays 80 or 90 titles a year. The Plaza plays more than 300. Escobar wants to expand the small theater’s offerings beyond a few big titles. At the time of publishing, the Capitol is screening two films: “Hadestown: The Musical” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”
But hints of the new management are already visible. On Oct. 10, the Capitol will host a screening of cult classic “The Room” with star Greg Sestero – a frequent presence at Atlanta’s screenings. In the description, it says Sestero is back for the “first time,” presumably since the film’s 2003 release.
It marks a shift towards the “event” cinema Escobar is known for.
Take the Plaza Theatre. On a given day, the Plaza plays major films like “The Odyssey,” independent fare like “I Want Your Sex” alongside “Plazamania” screening “The Legend of the Stardust Brothers” and Silver Scream Spookshow’s “This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse.”
“We play a lot of different things within a defined lane,” Escobar explained.
It’s a mix of classics, revivals, cult films, art house cinema and studio pictures. It appeals to a wide and dedicated audience. But a lot of it comes down to partners, like Silver Scream Spookshow, Videodrome, Reel Friends, WussyVision or OK Movie Club. Even local bar Joystick hosts the occasional movie screening.
“An important part of our approach with the Plaza and the Tara are these programming partnerships,” Escobar said. It’s a fraction of the schedule, just a handful of showtimes a month, but he says “it’s an important part of how we open it up to being bigger than just us.”
The partners split profits with the theater, even though it’s not a ton of money. “My perspective is, I would rather have a piece of a larger pie that is bigger than all of a smaller pie.”
And it pays off. The Plaza Theatre is now more successful than it was pre-pandemic, even though national theater attendance is down almost 30% from 2019. Both theaters are now home to the Atlanta Film Festival, too, which Escobar helps run.
But Escobar credits his success to another piece besides the programming — the theaters. It’s part of the Capitol Theater’s appeal. It is older than both the Plaza and the Tara. But the interior lacks many historic details.
“You should lean into the historic, lean into the things that make it exciting to be there,” Escobar said.
Escobar’s lease with the Tara Theater is only a few years, but he has tried to keep the mid-century feel intact. He has a longer lease with the Plaza, which lets him renovate the concessions stand into a full Art Deco bar. It is intentional down to the details, “the coat hook that intentionally fits with an Art Deco design.”
Each theater has its own visual language and design. They are attractions in themselves. “At the end of the day, the place should be worth the price of admission,” Escobar said. “And then you get to watch a movie.”
This will be a greater challenge with the Capitol. He does not own the theater, so Escobar and Arthouse Management will have to move slowly on any interior changes. But the nonprofit owns the building, so it’s a “different timetable” to work under.
“Our approach with the building is you need to constantly be reinvesting, to raise the standard of the building and you keep it and restore it and all of that,” Escobar said. “Our approach to programming is variety, but we don’t play everything under the sun. It has a range, but it’s not an infinite range.”
Escobar believes in the secret sauce. But it’s a test to take the winning recipe outside of Atlanta and into new terrain. He calls it “educational and inspiring.” And Escobar has plenty of inspiration.
He cites several Atlanta hot spots as the goal for Arthouse Management, like the Hotel Clermont down the street from the Plaza Theater. It’s owned by boutique hotel chain Oliver Hospitality, but Escobar says the identity of the Clermont comes first. He also looks to the Fox Theatre for its “constant reinvestment” into the venue, and Chick Fil A for its quality control.
“I like the idea of playing up not only what’s historic, but what’s unique about each [theater] rather than trying to superimpose an identity,” Escobar said. “Preservation is more than just the architecture; it’s also about the people. It’s about the stories. It’s about identity.”
Of course, Escobar is already looking to long-term goals. But he doesn’t want to jump into signing another theater quite yet. “I’m not trying to grow faster than is sustainable,” he said.
