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Cinema May Be Open By August

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 6, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - WESLEY CHAPEL - Central Pasco's first multi-screen movie theater could be open for business by August, according to the developer.

Jeremy Welman, chief operating officer for Alabama-based Cobb Theatres, said last week that he expects the 16-screen megaplex now under construction at The Grove shopping center to welcome its first patrons in about 45 days.

Earlier plans by Echo Real Estate Services, the developer of The Grove, had called for the theater to open last month.
Welman said that prediction was more hopeful than possible for a project that typically takes 12 months from start to finish.

He conceded that August - the end of the summer movie season - isn't the best time to open a cinema.

"It'd have been nice to have all those summer blockbusters," Welman said.

Cobb will learn Tuesday whether county commissioners will grant the company a license to serve alcohol at its "cinebistro" restaurant on the theater's second floor.

The proposal has encountered resistance from members of a nearby church who say drunken drivers leaving the theater could put them and local children at risk.

The theater and the church are less than 850 feet apart - well within the 1,000-foot radius the county set in 1979 to separate churches from business that sell alcohol.

Planning commissioners last month recommended granting the liquor license over church members' objections.

In the past, some liquor licenses have been approved despite the 1,000-foot limit, while others have been denied.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

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