River theater changes hands after eight months

Public Record, The, Jul 30, 2002 by Kleinschmidt, Janice

A major change in The River's multiplex cinema on July 26 was intended to go unnoticed - at least by patrons. As Century Theatres took over operation of the former Krikorian Premiere Theatres, the parties promised a "seamless transition."

"We were operating under a management agreement with the developer, and Century has entered into a long-term lease," says George Krikorian, president of Krikorian Premiere Theatres.

Originally, developer J.H. Snyder had expected Edwards Cinemas and then Resort Theaters to lease the theater. But, after initial negotiations, both filed for bankruptcy.

"People were hesitant to take an new overhead, waiting to see how the industry would shake out," says Karen Diehl, a spokesperson for J.H. Snyder Company, the property owner.

Confident The River needed a movie complex, Snyder entered into a management agreement with Krikorian and proceeded to build the theater himself, picking out the carpeting and seats and paying for it all.

"I think he did a great job putting in all the high-quality things we recommended to make it a real first class facility," Krikorian says.

The theater started business in early December, shortly after the opening of Borders bookstore, RE Chang's and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse.

Krikorian says he had the option to lease the 250,000-square-foot, 12-screen, alldigital stereo equipped theater with stadium seating, but "didn't like the economic terms."

"Century, for whatever reason, deemed it a favorable economic situation."

"It is a beautiful theater. It did good business," Krikorian adds. "We will miss operating it."

Now, Krikorian is pursuing other projects, such as building theaters in Buena Park, Pico Rivera and Vista Village, and possibly expanding its Redlands cinema. The company's existing theaters besides Redlands, are in Downey, Monrovia and San Clemente. Krikorian also has been negotiating to purchase a theater in Chino.

"Our plate is full," he says.

The considerably larger Century Theaters network comprises more than 850 movie screens in 11 states, including Alaska. The San Rafael-based company similarly is in the midst of an expansion, with plans to add 250 screens over the next three years. Century spokesperson Nancy Klasky says they are looking at the possibility of adding up to four screens at The River.

"It is a beautiful theater and is, from a presentation standpoint and from a state-ofthe-art standpoint, the exact kind of theater Century likes to run," Klasky says.

"We were negotiating with Century on other deals," says Jerry Snyder, founding managing partner of J.H. Snyder. The subject of the River property came up during those discussions, he says. It wasn't that he was unhappy with Krikorian.

"He did a great job" managing the theater, Snyder says. "But we didn't want to be an operator. We wanted to be a landlord."