Apollo Cinema ready to land in downtown Kitchener

Seats await patrons inside the Apollo Cinema in Kitchener on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015.

Growing up, some of Matt MacKinnon’s fondest memories involved heading to downtown Kitchener to catch Hollywood’s latest offerings.

“When I grew up, there were a lot of different movie theatres downtown – the Capitol, the Lyric, King’s College and the Fox Theatre,” he says.

When MacKinnon moved back to the area five years ago, reliving those memories proved impossible, as all those cinemas had packed up and left town.

Fed up with the lack of options, MacKinnon decided to take matters into his own hands.

He’s one of the co-owners of the Apollo Cinema, in the former Odeon Hyland and Gig Theatre on Ontario Street.

“It’s still in very good standing. It just needs some TLC,” he says of the building.

Bigger seats – and more space between seats – are part of the charm at the Apollo, along with a paint job, new carpets and a new snack bar.

Digital projection technology has also brought in.

And perhaps most unique of all, the Apollo will be the first theatre in Waterloo Region to offer its patrons wine and beer.

“We’re going to treat people like adults, like they can handle that,” says co-owner Daniel Demois.

The Apollo will open to the public Jan. 30, with a selection of free screenings and special events in the following weeks.

Its owners haven’t decided what film they’ll show first, but MacKinnon says

“Right now we’re in the middle of Oscar season, so we hope to get some of those Oscar titles … but being a community theatre, we want to be open to everybody,” he says.

Critically acclaimed and community-minded cinema from an independent theatre may sound a little familiar – a little like what’s on offer at the Princess Cinemas locations in uptown Waterloo.

Princess owner John Tutt says he doesn’t see Apollo’s arrival as a threat to his business.

“In the 30 years that we’ve been in business, we’ve had a 10-screen built on the north end of Waterloo (and) another 10-screen on the west end,” Tutt says.

“There’s a lot of filmgoers in this community.”