The Bay Theatre recently got new owners.
The Wilsons bought the Bay Theatre in October of last year from the Jannopoulos family who had owned it since the 1970s.
“They had it for decades and did a wonderful job and so we’re just carrying their torch,” Cameron Wilson, Bay Theatre owner.
Wilson tells me historically the Bay Theatre has shown blockbuster movies for one to two weeks at a time, which they will continue to do along with some new things relating to classic and indie movies which Wilson says his family loves.
"I am also finding a lot of opportunities to activate a few days out of the week to give to classic programming, film festival-like programming or just open the doors in the community to people who make movies like that,” Wilson said.
Another change is the theatre is now open seven days a week when it used to be closed on Mondays. Wilson says Mondays are for classic or indie films.
“They’ve been super well attended just the support from the community has been so encouraging that people are liking the choices on Mondays and we’re making a lot of friends out here with the special shows,” Wilson said.
The peak day of the week they see the most foot traffic is their $5 movie ticket Tuesdays. “Yeah, that is usually our main blockbuster event," Wilson said. "We have a discount for locals and anybody visiting."
Linda Lopez has been coming to the Bay Theatre for the past five years. “It’s a nice little theatre, old-fashioned," said Linda Lopez, Morro Bay resident. "It’s just small and local and one movie at a time."
The auditorium seats up to 315 people. I talked to Joan Berry who attended the 7 p.m. showing on Tuesday and she tells me she comes to the theatre every two weeks.
“And they have name-brand movies all the time," said Joan Berry, Cambria resident. "We don’t go anywhere else."
The Bay Theatre has given back to the community to organizations like the Morro Bay High School and most recently did a showing where all the proceeds went to numerous nonprofits in town.
“It’s incredible work that they do and it’s the least we can do to be on board with them,” Wilson said.
For more information on upcoming movies and showtimes at the Bay Theatre click here.
