Post: Historic Roxy Theatre Sold To Michael Sharpe

Posted by Pierre on 9/25/07

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The Roxy Theatre, the little movie house on Quadra Street
that was built from an army-surplus Quonset hut in 1949
and has survived the storms of video and big-chain
competition with budget ticket pricing, has a new owner
today.

But movie-goers who like Roxy's comfy confines and cheap
admission won't have to worry. The Roxy isn't changing its
$5 double bills or $2.50 Tuesdays - and it's staying
exactly where it is.

Michael Sharpe, a real estate developer who bought the
Roxy from well-known Victoria entrepreneur Howie Siegel,
said his goal is to preserve and improve the 324-seat
theatre. He said the Roxy will undergo a name change, a
facelift on the marquee and other improvements to
concessions, lobby and washrooms.

Sharpe, 34, a Victoria native who grew up going to movies
at the Roxy, will sign the deal with Seigel today.
Financial terms were not disclosed.

Neil Kelly, the Roxy's manager for more than two decades,
and the staff will stay on as terms of the sale, both
sides confirmed.

"To me, the Roxy's always been an icon," said Sharpe. "It
is Victoria's only independent movie theatre and it will
always be an affordable place to go, especially in these
days when disposable income is getting smaller and
smaller."

Sharpe, a new father, said he is hanging up his toolbelt
in real estate redevelopment to focus on operating the
theatre. "I want to take it a few steps further to become
a more visual and vocal part of the Hillside-Quadra
community."

Siegel, 62, bought the Roxy in 1986 for $135,000 with his
brother David and then-real estate agent David Butterfield
(who went on to develop Shoal Point at Fisherman's Wharf
and, more recently, the massive Loreto Bay development in
Mexico).

Siegel said a combination of age, financial fallout from
his recent divorce, a new relationship and busy acting
career all combined in the decision to sell. He is still
holding on to Pagliacci's with "absolutely no plans" to
sell the popular downtown restaurant.

"I didn't want to sell the Roxy. I resisted it for quite a
while," Siegel said yesterday. "It meant a lot to me. For
more than 21 years it was a big part of my life. Michael
was gently persuasive, and the right guy to sell it to."

Built by George Walky, who owned the drugstore on the
corner of Quadra and Hillside (now Salvation Army), the
Fox Theatre made quite an impression in 1949 with its
curved walls, large screen and 414 seats. Walky along with
partner and projectionist Ed Nixon operated the Fox until
1966 when they sold it to Barney Simmons. He showed new
releases and later adult movies when the larger chains
made movie selections more difficult for small operators
to acquire. In the mid-1970s, Simmons changed its name to
the Quadra Theatre.

Siegel initially operated the Roxy as "an art theatre" in
the 1980s as the rental video business depleted the
theatre-going crowds and the big chains opened multiplex-
style theatres. But when giants such as Cineplex and Odeon
started showing foreign and art films, Seigel struck on
the "budget formula," showing $5 doubleheaders and $2.50
Tuesdays. It was advice, ironically, that came from long-
time Odeon manager Pierre Gauthier.

"That's what made - and keeps making - the Roxy viable,"
said Seigel. "And it's still one of the best deals this
city's got."

Posts on this thread, including this one

Historic Roxy Theatre Sold To Michael Sharpe, 9/25/07, by Pierre.

Re: Historic Roxy Theatre Sold To Michael Sharpe, 9/24/10, by Michelle.