OUTLOOK - The inside of the Reel Theatre cinema in Outlook might look a wee bit different to you the next time you stop by to take in a movie.
The longtime business has undergone a bit of a transformation as recent renovations have updated the interior of the theater and brought it more into the current age.
Walking in, the new and bright hardwood flooring gives off a new sense of visibility to the lobby, and the updated forest green color scheme lends itself to the currently festive time of the year. The concession counter stands on its own, with an updated wall that customers are sure to notice right away.
Business owner Logan Stephenson said he was happy to finally give the theater a renovation, going over what's been done to the Franklin Street mainstay.
"It was mostly a facelift," he said. "We've done the entire lobby area and prettied it up. We've got some features that we thought were pretty cool, and obviously we've brightened everything up in here. We also did some structural stuff, like with the back door. So, for the most part, it was just a great facelift and we tackled some things that had been neglected for years."
With materials and services from local businesses such as Lee Plumbing and Heating, Lumber Plus, Home Hardware, as well as what Stephenson called outstanding work from labourers such as Jeff Lee, who tackled the flooring and tile work, as well as Reid Britnell of Thirdson Builders Ltd., the theater makeover was very much a locally-sourced project; Outlook workers and businesses helping another Outlook business.
Stephenson says he'd wanted to update the moviehouse ever since he took over the business.
"Since I bought it, actually," he said. "I bought it with the intention of doing it, but obviously, you've got to make the numbers make sense. We had a good year, so we decided to put it back into it and hopefully, it attracts more people. It's definitely a brighter place to be now!"
Logan says that it feels good to have accomplished everything, particularly with the narrow timeframe they gave themselves before Santa Claus Day at the theater, which was held on December 2. Luckily, aside from some spilled water on the floor that had to be mopped up as soon as this reporter arrived, things managed to fall into place for the renovations and patrons are sure to be wowed when they step into the building to take in a show.
"Big time, considering we gave ourselves a tight window," said Stephenson. "A lot could have gone wrong in that amount of time! And some stuff did, like what you walked in on, but we got it done. We're pretty pumped about this!"
