The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ENTERTAINMENT businesses such as Galleria Cinemas and Mario’s Bowling and Entertainment Palace will soon join the Fusion Superplex in reopening to patrons as the country creeps to normalcy.

For their owners, the chance to restart operations provides a glimmer of hope after months of uncertainty, even as the road to profitability promises to be long and difficult.

“I believe that working with our partners we can break even in the short term but the road to profitability will take a while,” Chris Mortimer, president of Galleria Cinemas, said yesterday.

Mr Mortimer said the theatre will reduce the price of its adult tickets from $10 to $7 for as long as the emergency powers restrictions are in place.

“We’ve done this so it’s a little less expensive for people who want to come and take a break from COVID-19,” he said.

Leslie Miller, owner of Mario’s Bowling, offered a bleaker assessment for the future of his business.

“I don’t think anyone in this country, after the losses we’ve suffered over the past eight months, thinks we could break even,” he said.

“I don’t even think about getting a profit and ain’t nobody even thinking about making money. As long as the bank don’t dump ya, that’s success. This (is) the time to get the staff back on their feet. If you could pay the bills and BEC don’t turn ya off and give you a break, that’s great, but it’s the staff that we (are) focusing on, keeping them employed and trying to swim above the fray.”

Mr Miller said Mario’s Bowling will reopen today with 58 of its 120 employees.

The company, he said, received permission to reopen after inspectors connected to the Office of the Prime Minister visited the establishment recently.

“When (they) came in, they were so shocked when they saw the magnitude of the place, as if they were never in there before,” he said. “They said they didn’t know what the problem was, why we hadn’t been allowed to reopen yet. The problem was they never (came) in here to look at the size of the place. That really bothered me because there was no need for us to close down because we have everything in place. Our employees (are) out there starving. One hundred dollars per week, no one could live off that.”

Mario’s Bowling will reopen 30 of its 50 bowling lanes. Other amenities, including access to its games room and skating rink, will also be available.

The facility can hold up to 5,000 people.

“Once you reach a certain point, we will stop letting people in to follow the distancing rules,” Mr Miller said.

Meanwhile, Mr Mortimer was awaiting official permission from the OPM to reopen his business up to press time yesterday.

“We’re ready to open,” he said. “What we’re doing is just, we thought that the government’s position was they would make a general announcement with respect to the industry which they didn’t make. What we’ve done is we’ve applied, and I expect very shortly to have the waiver as well. We will be reopening for films to the Bahamian public very shortly.”

Galleria Cinemas will allow 33 percent of its occupancy capacity, Mr Mortimer said.

“Our largest theatre holds 300 people. We will ensure customers adhere to the required protocols. There will be separation of rows so people don’t sit together in consecutive rows, there will be space in between. If there are families, they will sit together as long as they abide by the protocols,” he said.

Mr Mortimer said the theatre hasn’t determined how many of its staff will be brought back to work.

One issue he is seeking clarity on concerns concession sales, he said.

“The competent authority has indicated no indoor dining can take place which effectively means no eating inside the establishment. Our business is about concessions sales. Ideally, we want to make sure that that is indeed included. Even if it isn’t, we’re going to reopen to show films to the Bahamian public,” he said.

The Tribune has previously reported that Fusion Superplex had immediately started the process of recalling furloughed staff upon receiving a letter from the competent authority, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, dated February 12, 2021, allowing the facility to reopen.