Boxoffice-September.1997

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INDEPENDENTEXHIBITION SHOWCASE
A TASTE OF SUCCESS
At the Franks' Drexell Theatre, Audiences
Come for the Movies, but They Stay for the Food
by Susan Lambert
in the historic auditorium—had determined
not to serve popcorn in his theatre. "By day
two," explains Jeff, "we had popcorn. And
we've been popping with the same vintage
popcorn machine ever since." TTie Franks had
learned a valuable—and exploitable—lesson:
For most folks, a cinema without the right
concessions is like a day without sunshine. In
fact, the Franks have created many collaborations
between cinema and food—combining
America's two greatest social loves into one
creative package.
In 1990, the Franks decided to turn the
Drexell into a three-screen cinema. Jeff admits
they were initially reluctant to triple the
Drexell. "We had a gorgeous 7(X)-plus seat art
ART OECO DREXELL: Sei^en minutes from downtown Columbus, the Drexell Theatre and adjoining
Radio Cafe offer an upscale version of small-town entertainment. Note the original neon marquee.
When
the phone rings at the Drexell
Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, it's often
a customer who needs to know not
only what time the movie starts, but also what
soup is on and what the sandwich specials are
for the day. Ever since Jeff and Kathy Frank
opened the Drexell Radio Cafe as an extension
to their Drexell Theatre, customers have made
a night out at the Drexell a staple of their
entertainment diet.
Jeff started in exhibition in the '70s running
the film program at the Columbus Maseum of
Art and developed it into such a successful
program the museum director once complained
that he couldn't get in due to sell-out
crowds. Jeff then moved to the historic downtown
Ohio TheaUB as vice president of public
relations and publicity, as which he was responsible
for pn)grainming the classic movies and
training tour guides of the historic 3,000-scat
palace.
Kathy and Jeff had met at the museum. She
was in charge of the education department.
When their neighborhood theatre—the 1937
Drexell—became available in 1979, the obvious
thing for the Franks was to try running a
theau« on their own. "We noticed it was a
really unique art deco theatre that was very
sUieamlined and well-preserved," .says Jeff.
"However," adds Kathy, "it was covered up in
plastic flowers." The Franks did a quick cleaning
and simple restoration ("We got rid of the
plastic flowers") to get it as close as possible
to the 1937 look. The grand re-opening of the
737-seat Drexell had everything from borrowed
Ohio Theatre ushers in tuxedos to real
flowers and a bona fide movie star: The Franks
had arranged for Ginger Rogers to appear in
person. Despite the overwhelming openingday
success, the Franks received numerous
complaints, for Jeff—coming ftx)m the classic
Ohio Theatre which didn't allow coiKessions
deco historic movie theatre. The question is,
'Are you going to change it and min it?'" Jeff
adds, "But you know it was either triple it or
we weren't going to be there because die movie
business had changed. We needed to play films
longer We needed to take more risks and have
the ability to play many smaller films. It's hard to
play indef)endent art films in a 737-seat house."
Working with an architect, the Franks figured
out how to get their extra screens and still
maintain the historic ainbiance of the Drexell.
"You walk into our 300-seat theatre and it's the
same proscenium, all the same decorations."
The secret to maintaining the integrity of the
main auditorium? "We just shortened it."
When the space next door to the theaoie became
available, Jeff and Katliy faced another
important decision. "The obvious thought was,
'Let's put another theatre in,'" says Jeff. "But
then we kept thinking. We really needed something
to make the Drexell—in the long run
unique from multi-screen theatres. What can
we do?"
Kathy realized ftom talking with their customers
that they really lacked a place to go for
coffee
after the movie. "There weren't any
places that were open that late," says Kathy.
"especially on our side of town." Kathy and
Jeff, hearing the needs of their customers,
opted to put in a high-quality cafe so their
clients could combine eating out with going to
the movies. Kathy explains, 'X)ur space was
small, so it was a bit ofa trick to figure out what
we can offer with a very, very small kitchen.
We came up with a kind of txjmbination of