Brian McIntosh figures at least three generations of movie-lovers have enjoyed films together at the Pen-Mar.
The Landmark Cinemas CEO hopes that tradition will continue at the new Landmark Cinema 7 that opens Friday in Penticton.
“If you’re born in 1974 — the year that Landmark bought the Pen-Mar — you are now 38 years old. Your parents went to the Pen-Mar, you went to the Pen-Mar and your teenage children went to the Pen-Mar. We want to thank you for that and encourage all three generations to keep up the good work,” said McIntosh at the VIP event held on Wednesday evening.
Since the early 2000s, Landmark Cinemas has wanted to do something in Penticton. McIntosh admits although it was a bit of a “chore” jumping through environmental problems, real estate issues and other roadblocks, they are happy they found a home. The Winnipeg Street site they have built on, that was once a Safeway, a Canadian Tire and eventually a Liquidation World store, was actually under contract in 2005.
“No one has wanted it worse than Landmark Cinemas. The Pen-Mar has under-serviced your community for a long, long time — we have known that and have tried to put something new in place,” said McIntosh.
The new 23,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art complex with 1,142 rocker seats has been designed and built with the ultimate customer experience in mind.
“The existing Landmark Cinema, the Pen-Mar, has served the Penticton area for nearly half a century and it is indeed past its best by date,” said Neil Campbell, chief operating officer of Landmark Cinemas of Canada. “Penticton has shown Landmark Cinemas such tremendous support over the years, so we are extremely proud to open this state-of-the-art cinema complex in this community so that the people of Penticton can enjoy all the magic of the movies once again.”
Also in the Landmark Cinemas 7 Penticton is stadium seating for unobstructed sight lines, wall-to-wall wrap around screens and RealD 3D technology in five of the seven auditoriums. Taking the rush out of the theatre experience is complimentary reserved seating and Landmark’s Quick Tix, a computerized ticketing system that provides the self-serve, same-day and advanced ticketing purchases online, mobile and at the theatre. The theatre is also equipped with closed-captioning devices and low-level hearing headsets.
Landmark Cinemas also stated they are committed to continuing to be an active member in the community.
“We have been part of the Penticton community for a long time now and this city really represents the type of family values and corporate commitment that we value as a company. We look forward to working with our customers and local businesses in order to continue to be a real part of the community landscape” Campbell said.