The Big Picture Theater & Café is getting a second act.
The Waitsfield destination for dinner and a movie temporarily closed its doors last fall after struggling to bounce back from the pandemic shutdowns and dealing with understaffing. Now, the Big Picture is set to reopen on May 1 — with a new nonprofit model the community hopes will secure its financial future.
Former co-owner Claudia Becker wouldn’t permanently close the theater’s doors without a fight, according to board member Beth Schoellkopf. An outpouring of community support since the fall furthered her drive to find a way to save the beloved movie theater, which had been in business for 18 years.
The revived venue will be called the Big Picture Community Hub for the Arts, while the nonprofit supporting the theater is called the Bigger Picture Community Fund. But Schoellkopf expects it will still be popularly known as “the Big Pic.”
The restaurant and bar will remain a for-profit enterprise, subleasing its space from the nonprofit.
Many of the same staff will work there, including former general manager Kevin McMillion. The 54-year-old, who worked at the Big Picture since its inception, said he practically raised his kids at the movie theater.
“It was heartbreaking when we had to close,” he said. “So we’re really excited that this is all coming together.”
Schoellkopf said the new model was inspired by a February article in the New York Times about a growing number of small-town movie theaters converting to nonprofits. Competing with at-home streaming services has made it increasingly difficult for community theaters to turn a profit — as Vermonters can attest. Many are still mourning the closure of Burlington’s Merill’s Roxy Cinemas last November and South Burlington’s Palace 9 Cinemas the year before.
“COVID moved people into their living rooms in such a dramatic way. What theaters are learning is that they have to be more than just theaters,” Schoellkopf said. “They have to have community spaces.”
The Big Picture, she added, has always aimed to “feel like your living room,” acting as not only a movie theater but also a place to grab a coffee and catch up with neighbors. Accepting tax-deductible donations through the nonprofit model, she said, will allow it to more fully embrace that mission and host more community-oriented programming.
Upcoming events include a dance party on Saturday, June 28; a screening of the documentary Zero Limits followed by a conversation with “quantum healing” expert Lisa Schermerhorn on Friday, July 18; and a weeklong summer camp starting Monday, July 21, where kids can learn the fundamentals of animation.
The Big Picture will also screen movies five days a week, making use of its two roughly 90-seat theaters to broaden its previous focus on new releases. One screen will feature the latest titles, while the other will be dedicated to film festivals, special events and children’s programming. In May, movies will be limited to evenings, but Schoellkopf said the theater may expand to earlier hours based on demand for children’s films.
The nonprofit will operate with a tiered membership structure. A $200 annual adult membership, for example, grants moviegoers discounts on special events, half-price popcorn with every movie and one free ticket to an event of choice. Among the theater’s supporters is three-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Grace Potter, who grew up in the Mad River Valley and is a member of the nonprofit’s advisory committee.
To date, about 75 people have purchased memberships. The nonprofit is targeting 200 to 300 members by year’s end. If that milestone is met, the nonprofit plans to launch a capital campaign next year to purchase the building from co-owners Becker and Eugene Jarecki.
Other details are still in flux. The café is in the process of recruiting a chef for the full-service restaurant, tentatively set to open on June 15. And McMillion is debating the return of maple doughnuts, a former Big Picture staple.
An opening-day celebration on Thursday, May 1, will feature lawn games, music by the folk band Phineas Gage, a movie screening, and a ticketed concert with Kat Wright & Brett Hughes.