- Fremont Theatre on Monterey Street will close after tonight’s 7:30 p.m. showing of “The Impossible.” Photo by David Liebig.
Mustang Daily Staff Report
arts@mustangdaily.net
Fremont Theatre‘s 7:30 p.m. showing of “The Impossible” on Thursday might be the 70-year-old cinema’s last under its current ownership.
Assistant manager Maryanna Espejo-Moses, who has worked at The Fremont for more than five years, said the theater’s lease ended at the end of 2012. Since then, the business has been on a month-to-month lease with the building’s owners.
Espejo-Moses said the Fremont has not secured a new lease agreement.
“I’m not happy, but as an employee here, I’ve known for a while now that it was going to happen,” Espejo-Moses said.
She said the theater was expected to shut down before the holiday season, but it managed to stay open until this time.
“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “So it’s not as devastating as it would be normally.”
News of the San Luis Obispo landmark’s demise broke Thursday afternoon, when Fremont Theatre posted a statement on its Facebook page. Within two hours, the post accumulated more than 200 comments and was shared 400 times.
Some tickets for the theater’s final movie showing have already been sold.
“We’d just like to thank everyone in the community for their continued support of the Fremont,” Espejo-Moses said. “Hopefully, it won’t be closed for long, and if not picked up by us, it will still be run as a theater by someone else.”
David Liebig contributed to this report.