B&B Theatres wraps up record year of new builds and remodels, sets sights on 2019

[Adapted from a company press release.]

The folks at B&B Theatres have been busy this year, setting a high bar for growth and expansion going into 2019.

The past twelve months have been explosive for the family-owned and -operated company, with completed remodels or new builds taking place on 85 screens across eight sites. Each of the remodels and builds has brought the latest and greatest of the premier theater company’s innovative amenities, signature aesthetic, and quality presentation.

This year’s process started with massive, full-scale remodels of existing locations in three states: Lee’s Summit, MO, Leavenworth, KS, and Tulsa, OK. Each project brought unique challenges and opportunities, and each has been dramatically enhanced by the installation of reserved leather electric recliners, extended food and beverage options,  lobby and restroom remodels, exterior façade updates, and much more. Tulsa and Lee’s Summit received PLF B&B Grand Screens, MX4D, and screenPLAY! enhancements.

New locations were built in 2018 in New Longview (the company’s second location in the Lee’s Summit area) and in B&B’s longtime hometown headquarters of Liberty, MO. The New Longview 7 is a quaint and upscale boutique theater, located in a beautiful commercial district. The B&B Theatres Liberty 12 is the company’s flagship, boasting every amenity B&B has to offer, from heated leather recliners to family-friendly screenPLAY! to rollicking MX4D to the luxurious and intimate Lyric theater. Liberty is also home to Johnnie’s, a full restaurant and jazz bar with live music virtually every night.

[Read Boxoffice’s October article about the flagship Liberty, Missouri remodeling here.]

As the fourth quarter loomed, remodels wrapped on locations in Moberly and Festus, Missouri, two longtime B&B markets that were due for updates. Sweeping changes to the lobby, restrooms, concessions, auditoriums, food and beverage menus, and the installation of reserved electric recliners brought these foundational theaters into the modern scope of B&B’s current standard.

But the crown jewel of B&B’s visionary innovation has yet to be completed (but will be by year’s end). The B&B Theatres Ankeny 12 is set to open in mid-December, and will feature many of the signature amenities that drew such attention at the Liberty opening: screenPLAY!, MX4D, PLF B&B Grand Screens, and heated recliners. But the massive theater in Ankeny will also house a gigantic redemption arcade as well as 12 lanes of bowling, representing B&B’s first foray into the world of entertainment centers. Located in the Des Moines suburbs, the B&B Theatres Ankeny 12 w/B-Roll bowling promises to be a destination entertainment venue, and to put B&B on the map in Iowa in a major way.

For early 2019, B&B Theatres plans to open a new 9-screen theater in Topeka, Kansas.

With the sun setting on 2018, an optimistic and strategically-positioned B&B Theatres gears up for the new year with continued emphasis on deliberate growth, responsible expansion, and revitalized focus on guest experience and quality of service.

Company History
B&B Theatres has been family owned and operated since 1924 when Elmer Bills Sr. opened a movie house in Salisbury, Missouri where the future Mrs. Bills played the piano for silent movies.  During the company’s 94 years, and four generations of family involvement, it has seen the coming of sound, color, Technicolor, stadium seating, multiplexes, and now digital cinema.

Current Operations
B&B Theatres is the 7 th largest theatre chain in North America and operates over 400 screens at 50 locations in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Mississippi, and Florida.

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