If you
love movies and aren’t hung up on making money, there’s
an indie theater in Port Orchard that would like to meet you.
The proprietors of Dragonfly Cinema on Bay Street announced Tuesday they are seeking new owners to keep the two-screen movie house going.
“Despite our love of Port Orchard, our family may need to be a bit more mobile than we’ve been over the past few years due to some recent positive personal events,” reads a Facebook post signed by Gryphon, Sharalyn, Alexander, and Evangeline Shafer.
“So it’s with immense sadness that we announce our intention to vacate ownership of Dragonfly Cinema. That said, obviously we want to see the theater continue to operate under new ownership if possible.”
The Shafers aren’t simply tossing the business on the market. Instead, they’ll be accepting proposals from prospective owners, with the hopes of finding the best possible custodian for the downtown institution.
Proposals will be accepted through December. In an email Wednesday, Gryphon Shafer said he’d already received five submittals.
“The response so far has been better than I expected,” he said.
The Shafers offered a candid overview of their business in a FAQ accompanying the announcement. How much profit should the new owners expect to make?
“Pretty close to none,” according to the FAQ. “When we took over the cinema four and a half years ago, it was losing a lot of money. We’ve taken it to pretty close to break-even.”
Running the cinema has other rewards, the Shafers said in their announcement:
“We’ve been blessed to work with some top-shelf employees and dedicated volunteers, and we’ve been lucky to serve you, patrons who care about a great movie-going experience. And of course, our popcorn ain’t that bad.”
The Shafers revitalized the shuttered Historic Orchard Theater in 2011 and renamed it the Dragonfly. They’ll continue to operate the theater into early 2016 if no viable proposal is submitted, according to their announcement Tuesday.
You can read the full announcement and FAQ here. Dragonfly Cinema shows free movies during the Festival of Chimes and Lights, scheduled for Dec. 5 this year.