🔒Q&A: Despite reopening, The Strand hasn’t survived yet

The coronavirus pandemic created 15 long months of no business at The Strand historic cinema draft house in Clinton, which shows a variety of movies a few months, years, and even decades after they first debuted in theaters. After statewide restrictions on gatherings were lifted, The Strand reopened in May, with Owner Rob Nierintz hoping the crowds return to create a sustainable business once again.

What was it like, waiting to reopen? 

We closed on March 16, 2020. At the time we thought it was going to be a couple-week break. We thought it would all blow over, but the pandemic business restrictions just kept extending and extending and extending. We never knew exactly when we were going to reopen.

In the fall, it looked like it might happen, as gatherings of 25 people were allowed, but theaters weren’t allowed. We kept playing it day by day. Finally, just as the state was relaxing the restrictions, I realized we could still do this. We reopened in May, the weekend before Memorial Day.

What were the consequences of your closure?

All of my people were part time, so I didn’t qualify for most of the government assistance programs. It was difficult getting through the 15 months. Now, people say, “I’m glad you survived,” but we haven’t survived yet. We still have to see if the customer base comes back.

Is it coming back?

It is ramping up slowly but steadily. The week of July 5, when we showed “Jaws”, that was a great, great week for us. We traditionally show “Jaws” every summer, and people always come. Any movie with a local aspect to it is very, very well attended: “Little Women”, “The Honest Thief”, “Daddy’s Home 2”.

What will help increase the size of your crowds?

I need Hollywood to put out movies into theaters. Hollywood reacted to the pandemic by largely moving their releases to streaming platforms, which I can’t show unless they have a theatrical release.

We have special events that do very, very well, but what I really need is steady revenue from the movies every week. It is always a tough decision to choose what movie we end up showing each week.

How do you pick the movies?

We can show movies a month to a month and a half after they first come out, and I ask myself “Will this appeal to the audience I get at The Strand?” We will put out movies from earlier in the year, like “Avengers: Endgame”. When we showed “Wonder Woman”, the crowd was huge.

My audience tends to skew toward 30s and higher. People who are dying to see movies on the first day may come here for a second showing, but it is mostly people who are willing to wait to see the newest movies.

I consider myself to be an affordable alternative, as tickets are $6. I am able to do that because I wait a few months to show the new movies.

What are your big special events?

Our best ones are “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in October, where the cast from the Boston stage show comes to act it out, and the audience can throw toast and toilet paper at them. We also do “The Polar Express” in December and “It’s a Wonderful Life” for Thanksgiving.

As a cinema draft house, how important are the concessions?

The concessions are a big part of The Strand. Because of our low ticket prices, that is not a big moneymaker for us. An unofficial motto is , “A glass of wine makes even a bad movie not so bad.”

Will The Strand survive over the long term?

Right now, our intention is to continue on and be strong. We just have to make sure financially it works out for us.

I’m always a glass-half-full guy, so I’m optimistic about what will happen.

This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ Editor Brad Kane.