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With a sign posted to its front window, Mountain View ShowPlace Icon theater at San Antonio Center announced yesterday that it has ceased all operations, much to the dismay of movie-goers who were unaware of its imminent closure.
The Mountain View movie theater opened in 2018, amid much fanfare for its luxury amenities and latest movie-viewing technology. It was owned and operated by the movie chain Kerasotes Theatres, a Chicago-based family business that had been in existence since 1909.
This past week, Kerasotes closed its three other theaters, located in San Jose (Valley Fair Mall), Chicago (South Loop) and St. Louis Park (suburban Minneapolis), according to an IndieWire article.
Tony Kerasotes, ShowPlace Icon CEO, confirmed the theater closures but did not provide a comment, according to IndieWire.
At the height of its operations, Kerasotes had 95 theaters nationwide, making it the sixth largest movie theater chain in the county. It sold off most of these to AMC Entertainment in 2010, according to news articles at the time.
The Mountain View multiplex was seen as a refinement of the luxury movie theater concept, offering more premium services at ticket prices that were not the cheapest or the most expensive, Kerasotes said when it opened in 2018.
Its location also was touted as the final piece to transforming the San Antonio shopping center into a live-work-play complex.
There is no public information about what is in store for the Mountain View Icon theater. But patrons who purchased advanced movie tickets will be reimbursed, according to the closure announcement.
“We would like to express our sincerest gratitude and appreciation to our guests for your unwavering support, loyalty and enthusiasm over the years,” it said.
What a major bummer! This place had heated reclining seats, which totally ruined every other movie theater for me. Many happy memories seeing films here.
Of course, I seldom saw it busy, and frequently had practically private showings. So I assume it just lost a boatload of money over the last few years.
I personally prefer non-heated non-reclining seats, so the other theaters will be safe for *my* business anyway. 🙂