Important Update

The Chehalis Theater Is Reopening

We are very happy to announce that The Chehalis Theater has received its new Certificate of Occupancy from the City of Chehalis and is cleared to reopen.

We also believe our customers and community deserve to know what happened over the past several weeks and what comes next.

On August 11, the City ordered The Chehalis Theater closed after determining that we were operating as a “nightclub.” The City stated that this classification required an automatic sprinkler system, declared the building an “immediate threat to public health and safety,” revoked our occupancy permit, and prohibited us from occupying or even re-entering the building.

We disagreed with that determination from the beginning.

We operate a theater and restaurant that hosts movies, live performances and other events. Our customers attend movies, concerts, comedy and other entertainment, often while seated at tables and chairs with food and beverage service.

After attempts to resolve the disagreement were unsuccessful, we retained legal counsel and formally appealed the City's decision. We were prepared to have an independent hearing examiner review the City's determination.

One day after our appeal was filed, the City offered a resolution that would allow us to reopen in exchange for withdrawing the appeal.

We ultimately reached a resolution, and the City has now issued our new Certificate of Occupancy. It expressly authorizes theater use, including live performances, as well as restaurant use with unconcentrated tables and chairs with food service. The maximum occupant load is now 200.

So, What Changed?

Very little.

We were not required to install the sprinkler system that was at the center of the City's original enforcement action. No construction or other physical changes to the building were required. Live performances remain permitted. Restaurant operations remain permitted. Tables and chairs remain permitted.

The only meaningful concession we made was reducing our permitted occupancy from 299 to 200 people.

For perspective, since purchasing The Chehalis Theater in 2020, we have never sold 200 tickets to a single event.

The event the City relied upon as evidence leading to our closure sold just 57 tickets.

In practical terms, we are being allowed to reopen and continue operating The Chehalis Theater in essentially the same manner we were operating before the closure.

That leaves us with questions we believe are fair to ask.

Why did this disagreement need to result in the complete closure of The Chehalis Theater? Why did five people need to lose their jobs? Could this have been resolved without closing the business?

Those questions are particularly difficult given that the City's original notice declared the building an “immediate threat to public health and safety.”

Today, the City has issued a Certificate of Occupancy allowing the public back into the building without requiring installation of the sprinkler system at issue, without requiring construction or other physical changes to the building, and without fundamentally changing how we operate.

We do not intend to speculate about anyone's motives. But given the consequences of the closure, we believe it is reasonable to ask what changed and whether this matter could have been resolved without shutting down the theater in the first place.

The Closure Had Real Consequences

Five people lost their jobs.

We estimate that approximately $20,000 in revenue was lost, and approximately $10,000 in food went to waste after we were prohibited from re-entering the building.

Numerous scheduled events also had to be canceled, including what was scheduled to be the first movie premiere in the history of Chehalis.

At the time those cancellations were made, we had no idea how long The Chehalis Theater would remain closed. The City's order prohibited occupancy until a valid occupancy permit was issued, and we had no reopening date or timetable for resolving the dispute.

We could not responsibly continue selling tickets, booking performers, purchasing food, or asking customers and event organizers to hold dates when we had no way of knowing whether the theater would remain closed for weeks, months, or substantially longer.

We therefore had little choice but to cancel our scheduled events and begin issuing refunds.

At that point, we did not know that a resolution would come together so quickly after we exercised our right to appeal. Only after the appeal was filed did the City offer the resolution that ultimately allowed us to reopen.

Our customers were inconvenienced, performers and event organizers had their plans disrupted, and we believe our reputation suffered after the building was officially declared an immediate threat to public health and safety.

We fully support the City's responsibility to enforce building and safety codes. We also believe that when government exercises the extraordinary authority to immediately close a business, decisions of that magnitude deserve careful consideration because the consequences for employees, businesses and the community are very real.

Refunds Are Still Being Processed

We also want to address customers who purchased tickets or reservations for events affected by the closure.

The sudden shutdown resulted in a large number of cancellations and refunds that have had to be processed. Some of those refunds are still being completed.

If you are still waiting for a refund related to an event canceled as a result of the closure, please know that we have not forgotten about you. Any remaining refunds should be completed soon.

We sincerely appreciate everyone's patience while we work through the remaining transactions and the other consequences of the closure.

What's Next

Receiving our Certificate of Occupancy is great news, but unfortunately it does not mean we can simply flip a switch and immediately return to normal.

Because we had no way of knowing when the theater would be allowed to reopen, we lost our employees and had to cancel the event calendar we had spent months building.

We now need to hire and train a new team, restock the restaurant, reconnect with performers and promoters, and rebuild our event schedule.

That will take some time, and we ask for a little patience while we rebuild.

We know many of you have also been waiting for an update on An Evening at Hogwarts, our Harry Potter Dinner & Movie event that was canceled as a result of the closure. This event will be rescheduled, and we will announce the new date soon. Existing ticket holders will receive additional information as those plans are finalized.

We will also begin announcing our first movies, dinners, live performances and other events as they are confirmed.

For the latest reopening information, event announcements and updates as we work toward reopening, please follow The Chehalis Theater on Facebook and Instagram.

Most importantly, The Chehalis Theater is coming back.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us throughout this process. Your patience, encouragement and support have meant a great deal to us.

We have some work ahead of us, but we're excited to finally be able to move forward.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back to The Chehalis Theater very soon.

The Chehalis Theater