For roughly 15 years Spring Grove Communications owned and operated Spring Grove Cinema located at 167 W. Main Street. The Cinema is a local theater where people enjoy gathering for entertainment and events. However, in October 2024. Spring Grove Cinema was put up for sale to the public via sealed bids.
Lucas Hall, a Cinema volunteer, placed a bid and graciously took ownership of the establishment on December 23, 2024. The Cinema held a soft grand opening with bands playing. The Spring Grove Chamber of Commerce came down and did a ribbon cutting in honor of the special occasion. The ribbon cutting signaled “We’re finally open!” Hall commented the Chamber of Commerce to have been great to work with. The first movie that was run at the Cinema under Hall’s ownership was “Flow!”
“I’ve always liked the theater!” shared Hall. He expressed great enjoyment from his experience with the theater which influenced his decision to place a bid for potential ownership of the Cinema. Hall especially enjoyed the theater’s retro films and comedians; he hopes to add to the current theater. Apart from Hall’s love of theater, he always wanted entertainment of some sort for the city of Spring Grove.
Hall has a few creative plans for the Cinema’s future yet also wants to maintain the Cinema as is. Heconverted the upstairs area above the Cinema into a student center that includes a ping pong table, computers, an Xbox, and fun board games. A bit of tech support is also offered here. The area can be utilized in many unique ways. The third Wednesday of each month, Hall will hold one foreign film. On May 14, “Kitchen Stories,” a Norwegian film showed in honor of Syttende Mai. Then on May 21, “Maudie” was shown.
Hall considered the inclusion of a small coffee shop with the Cinema. He hopes to hold more live music as live music has brought about positive responses. Hall shared that overall, the Cinema is a community hub for everyone.
A number of vendors have been utilized to support the Cinema. For snacks, Coco-Cola products are sold as well as candies. Spring Grove pop from Spring Grove Soda Pop is available. When Hall held a Lord of the Rings marathon at the Cinema, treats such as custom cookies and cakes from Caledonia Bakery were available. Meats and cheese from Hunt and Gather Grazing Boards in La Crosse, Wis., were also offered. Hall would love to utilize many local businesses with the Cinema, unfortunately licensing restrictions make such hard to do. Hall hopes to keep things local.
The best part of owning and running Spring Grove Cinema, Hall shared, was the special events that take place in addition to how excited people get when it comes to all the possibilities at the Cinema. Nothing took Hall by surprise when it came to Cinema ownership, nothing he did not expect, that is.
Hall decided to relocate to the Spring Grove area four years ago after securing connections to a farm. Prior to Spring Grove, Hall resided in Rochester, Minn,. and Minneapolis for 12 years.
A brief history of Spring Grove Cinema – In “Cinema Treasures,” Spring Grove Cinema dates back to 1939 where the Cinema operated as The Grove Theatre. The theater at the time seated 230 people. Unfortunately, the Rochester Post Bulletin acknowledged a basement fire that occurred in 1949 which burned the theater down. Fifty-plus years later, in 2008, discussion began about constructing a new theater. In 2009, Spring Grove Communications built the Spring Grove Cinema on the former Yesteryears Antiques site. In 2014, the theater had renovations done. Today, Spring Grove Cinema continues to serve as a first run theater.
Leave a Reply