The theater is located across the street from the city of Warren, so it's just within the border of the Motor City. However, owners Cory Jacobson and Charles Murray say they will continue to look for opportunities to raise more screens in Detroit.
"There's a lot of potential here. We've been looking at locations all over the Midwest, and we came upon this one," Murray tells GlobeSt.com while making opening day preparations.
Murray, from Minneapolis, and Jacobson, a Milwaukee native, are both versed in the theater business. They both had worked at United Artists theaters. Phoenix is their first independent venture. Now, they have invested $500,000 to take over the lease of the former AMC Bel-Air that had closed at the Detroit site. "We negotiated the lease to a third of what it had been for the former tenants," Murray says.
The owners of the 40,000-sf facility are Developers Diversified, based in Ohio. Murray says the area is perfect for a new theater, and possibly for a sit-down restaurant in the future.
"The response from the public to our opening has been phenomenal. People have been calling us for the last three weeks. I got 300 job applicants without even placing an ad," he says. "We're now looking all over the place for other locations we can get into."
Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer is among the dignitaries that will cut the ribbon to open the theater today, "We're very excited. I can't wait to get the doors open," Murray says.
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