Gov. Roy Cooper may have announced the easing of some restrictions while continuing safety measures on statewide movie theaters and bars earlier this week, but film-goersare going to have to wait a little longer before they can attend a show in Fayetteville.
Management at area theaterssay they weren't given enough notice to be able to reopen two days after the governor announced Executive Order 169, which goes into effect at 5 p.m. today and is scheduled to continue through Oct. 23.
Some limitations apply in this gradual shift into Phase 3 of the state economic recovery.
Among those provisions, Cooper said,movie theaters may open indoor spaces to 30% of capacity, or 100 guests, whichever is less. Barsmay operateoutdoors at 30% of outdoor capacity, or 100 guests, whichever is less.
At the same time, an 11 p.m. curfew on alcohol sales for in-person consumption in such locations as restaurants and outdoor bars will be extended to Oct. 23.
A large number of these businesses — including all of the movie houses — have been closed sincemid-March, when a statewide stay-at-home order went into effect due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But some bars are already open and have been for some time. In those cases, owners say,they have been allowed to operate because they also serve food.
Some are restaurant bars, with bars inside the establishment.
"Bars around here. They're packed," said Paddy Gibney, owner of Paddy's off Raeford Road. "Most of them have been open. Why would they not close all bars?"
Gibney said he did not want to appear disgruntled, as he'sfriends with many of the bar owners and managers in Fayetteville. But he said he has been "trying to do the right thing."
"When we open," he said, "it'll be all over the place. I don't want to put myself in danger. My staff in danger. I'm responsible for a lot of people here. I feel added responsibility to do the right thing."
Paddy's will not openFriday evening, Gibney said.
"I'm not hopeful anytime this year," he said of being able to reopen without mandated limitations. "The problem is, once we open, we don't know how people will respond."
At this time, he said, "What's the point of reopening now? Because I think it would be counterproductive. If you follow by the governor's rules, we can only have a small amount of people on the patio. What would be the point of a small amount of people? I would spend more on having on the lights."
Though Gibney said he could reopen Friday if he wanted to, he added, "We want to be the symbol of this thing being over. Let this thing pass."
On Thursday, some of the bars that have not reopened, such as Louie's on Robeson Street and Cheers Two on Raeford Road, were deserted.
Movie theaters
The two AMC movie theatersin town — AMC Fayetteville 14 on Lake Valley Drive and AMC Market Fair 15 on Skibo Road — are not expected to reopen until Oct. 9, according to Fayetteville 14 general manager Allen McWhorter.
Any additional comment, he said, must come from the corporate office.
In the Hope Mills area, Millstone 14 on Camden Road will not reopen until next month. The cineplex is owned by Stone Theatres Management of Charlotte.
The manager referred questions to Stone Theatres' vice president Dale Coleman in the home office. Coleman did not immediately return phone messages left Thursday.
Phone messages left for owners Chris and Nasim Kuenzel at the Cameo Art House Theatre on Hay Street were not returned.
While closed since March, the Cameo has generated some revenue by offeringstreaming movies for home viewing, and selling popcorn and other theater concessions on Fridays and Saturdays for curbside pickup.
More:Looking for something to do? Fayetteville's Cameo Theatre has streaming, curbside concessions
Omni Cinemas 8 on Sycamore Dairy Road also is scheduled toreopenon Oct. 9.
"We're very excited about reopening next Friday. We're just glad to reopen," said Dean Melvin, the manager of the independent Omni Cinemas 8. "We'll start out slow. We should have been ready. We are ready, but I want to get some cleaning done."
Melvin said, "You can't plan without being certain of something. I just heard about it yesterday (Wednesday). You've got to have time to book the movies. You've got to have time to get ready. Just the uncertainty of all this."
On Thursday afternoon, he was unsure what the schedule would be like.
"We'll be doing a combination of new movies and old movies," he said. "We're going to be first-run now. We'll go with first-run movies. This will be a first-run discount theater. We'll be the lowest-priced tickets in town. I'll make sure of that. We'll slash concession prices.
"We're confident we canget back open and get back to normal here soon. If not normal, close to it," Melvin said. "Theaters5 and 6 —we'll put 80 people in there. Also in the smaller houses, which are like 120 (at capacity), that will only give me about 35 or 40 people" with the restrictions.
He noted how some of the film companies are streaming their new movies instead of releasing them nationwide in theaters. He used "Mulan" as an example, which is now available on Disney Plus, a streaming subscription service.
"They're putting a lot of movies off until next year," Melvin said. "There's not a lot of product out there. We're not going to open the doors and people pack the theaters. I think the whole movie theater (industry) will turn around sometime in the second quarter (of 2021)."
Over the summer, the Omni has presented drive-in movies in the parking lot. Melvin said that would end this weekend.
More:Myron B. Pitts: The Omni Cinemas in Fayetteville has brought the drive-in back
"We had fun with that. It was a learning process," he said. "I feel kind of sad to be taking it down. We're going to bring it back every summer. It was a fun thing to do."
"2020 has been some crazy year," Melvin said. "We never thought it would be this long. My goodness!"
Staff writer Michael Futch can be reached at mfutch@fayobserever.com or 910-486-3529.
