By VALERIE WHITNEY
BUSINESS WRITER
Epic Theatres, a small motion picture circuit based in DeLand, is getting ready to put its stamp on Volusia/Flagler in a big way.
The privately owned firm is getting ready to open 40 new screens in the next two years in Palm Coast, Deltona and DeLand.
The company broke ground this month at an 8-acre site in the heart of Palm Coast's Town Center development for Epic Theatres of Palm Coast.
Epic Theatres, a small motion picture circuit based in DeLand, is getting ready to put its stamp on Volusia/Flagler in a big way.
The privately owned firm is getting ready to open 40 new screens in the next two years in Palm Coast, Deltona and DeLand.
The company broke ground this month at an 8-acre site in the heart of Palm Coast's Town Center development for Epic Theatres of Palm Coast.
The new cinema will fill a void in the community since the Picture Show III in St. Joe Plaza closed in 2007. Owners Kenneth and Eunice Pierce, who had operated the three-screen facility since 1998, decided they wanted to retire and do something else.
"We've always had an interest in Palm Coast. We feel it is an undeserved market and it fits within our expansion plans," said Frank DeMarsh, Epic president.
Construction of the project is expected to be completed by the third quarter of next year.
David Lusby, vice president of Palm Coast Holdings, master developer for Palm Coast Town Center, said officials always planned to have a theater.
A theater is a natural draw for lifestyle centers, which, unlike traditional malls, have several anchors clustered together in an open-area setting, Lusby said. Each anchor is a destination and retailers don't have to worry about what happens in a mall, for example, when the theaters remain open after the stores close.
Lusby said officials also settled early on Epic Theatres.
"We sought out Epic for a number of reasons. They were a local, regional operator and we liked that. They seemed like a good fit," he said in a telephone interview this week.
Furthermore, Lusby said, officials liked that Epic was excited about the idea.
Epic operates 67 screens at six sites in three states--Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida. Epic's operations in the Sunshine State include theaters in Clermont and St. Augustine.
They also run the Victoria Square Six in DeLand and the Beacon Theatres in New Smryna Beach. The 12-screen Beacon in New Smyrna Beach is the only cinema in southeast Volusia County.
Both the proposed new DeLand theater at International Speedway Boulevard and Spring Garden Avenue, as well as the Deltona theater at Interstate 4 and State Road 72 are in various stages of the planning process.
Despite the sour economy, DeMarsh said, officials are confident in going ahead with the expansion. There is a misconception that attendance at movie theaters is down, he said, citing a record-breaking summer for the industry. The audience has matured, he said, and people will go out for the right movie.
"Theaters are somewhat recession resistant," he said.
The company several years ago considered building a theater in Daytona Beach as part of a proposed development at Beville Road, but decided against it.
According to the National Association of Theater Owners, there were a total of 38,198 indoor screens at the end of 2008, compared with 20,595 in 1987. At the same time, however, there were fewer theaters.
One reason may be that theaters built in the last decade are starting to look aged and vulnerable as the industry embraces IMAX screens and digital projection technology, according to an article in Retail Traffic.
"The theater industry, which enjoyed a boom in new construction in the mid- to late 1990s before overbuilding forced at least a half-dozen overextended chains into bankruptcy . . . is back on an expansion binge. Shopping center owners, who had grown wary of cinema tenants prone to dumping leases unexpectedly, are courting major exhibitors again," the article said.
"That is just the evolution of commercial real estate. Things become fashionable and then they go out of style," said the 53-year-old DeMarsh, whose family built its first theater in 1947 in Pennsylvania.
Over time, the family has owned and/or operated several theaters. At one point, they ran a chain of Beacon theaters before selling it in 2003. They retained the Beacon operation in New Smryna Beach.
The Epic brand was created afterward, according to DeMarsh, who attended Stetson University. His brother, Clint DeMarsh, is company vice president of Epic Theatres. A sister, Edie Lawrence, serves as the chief financial officer.
Though the company is operated by third- and fourth-generation exhibitors, Frank DeMarsh was quick to note that it is not another family-owned business. There are several investors, he said, but declined to identify them.
While EPIC's expansion will almost double the chain's size, the company still has a way to go to compete with such giants as the Regal Entertainment Group, the top U.S. chain with 6,778 screens in 549 sites nationwide, including theaters locally in Port Orange and Ormond Beach.
Hollywood Theaters, the ninth-largest chain, has 536 screens in 49 sites. The company is slated to enter the local market with a multiscreen theater planned for the Pavilion at Port Orange, a new lifestyle center under construction.
Growing Florida Empire
Epic Theatres:
Clermont
St. Augustine
Epic operates:
Victoria Square Six DeLand
Beacon New Smyrna Beach
Coming Soon:
Town Center in Palm Coast
DeLand (at International Speedway/Spring Garden Avenue)
Deltona (at Interstate 4 and State Road 72)
"We've always had an interest in Palm Coast. We feel it is an undeserved market and it fits within our expansion plans," said Frank DeMarsh, Epic president.
Construction of the project is expected to be completed by the third quarter of next year.
David Lusby, vice president of Palm Coast Holdings, master developer for Palm Coast Town Center, said officials always planned to have a theater.
A theater is a natural draw for lifestyle centers, which, unlike traditional malls, have several anchors clustered together in an open-area setting, Lusby said. Each anchor is a destination and retailers don't have to worry about what happens in a mall, for example, when the theaters remain open after the stores close.
Lusby said officials also settled early on Epic Theatres.
"We sought out Epic for a number of reasons. They were a local, regional operator and we liked that. They seemed like a good fit," he said in a telephone interview this week.
Furthermore, Lusby said, officials liked that Epic was excited about the idea.
Epic operates 67 screens at six sites in three states--Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida. Epic's operations in the Sunshine State include theaters in Clermont and St. Augustine.
They also run the Victoria Square Six in DeLand and the Beacon Theatres in New Smryna Beach. The 12-screen Beacon in New Smyrna Beach is the only cinema in southeast Volusia County.
Both the proposed new DeLand theater at International Speedway Boulevard and Spring Garden Avenue, as well as the Deltona theater at Interstate 4 and State Road 72 are in various stages of the planning process.
Despite the sour economy, DeMarsh said, officials are confident in going ahead with the expansion. There is a misconception that attendance at movie theaters is down, he said, citing a record-breaking summer for the industry. The audience has matured, he said, and people will go out for the right movie.
"Theaters are somewhat recession resistant," he said.
The company several years ago considered building a theater in Daytona Beach as part of a proposed development at Beville Road, but decided against it.
According to the National Association of Theater Owners, there were a total of 38,198 indoor screens at the end of 2008, compared with 20,595 in 1987. At the same time, however, there were fewer theaters.
One reason may be that theaters built in the last decade are starting to look aged and vulnerable as the industry embraces IMAX screens and digital projection technology, according to an article in Retail Traffic.
"The theater industry, which enjoyed a boom in new construction in the mid- to late 1990s before overbuilding forced at least a half-dozen overextended chains into bankruptcy . . . is back on an expansion binge. Shopping center owners, who had grown wary of cinema tenants prone to dumping leases unexpectedly, are courting major exhibitors again," the article said.
"That is just the evolution of commercial real estate. Things become fashionable and then they go out of style," said the 53-year-old DeMarsh, whose family built its first theater in 1947 in Pennsylvania.
Over time, the family has owned and/or operated several theaters. At one point, they ran a chain of Beacon theaters before selling it in 2003. They retained the Beacon operation in New Smryna Beach.
The Epic brand was created afterward, according to DeMarsh, who attended Stetson University. His brother, Clint DeMarsh, is company vice president of Epic Theatres. A sister, Edie Lawrence, serves as the chief financial officer.
Though the company is operated by third- and fourth-generation exhibitors, Frank DeMarsh was quick to note that it is not another family-owned business. There are several investors, he said, but declined to identify them.
While EPIC's expansion will almost double the chain's size, the company still has a way to go to compete with such giants as the Regal Entertainment Group, the top U.S. chain with 6,778 screens in 549 sites nationwide, including theaters locally in Port Orange and Ormond Beach.
Hollywood Theaters, the ninth-largest chain, has 536 screens in 49 sites. The company is slated to enter the local market with a multiscreen theater planned for the Pavilion at Port Orange, a new lifestyle center under construction.
Growing Florida Empire
Epic Theatres:
Clermont
St. Augustine
Epic operates:
Victoria Square Six DeLand
Beacon New Smyrna Beach
Coming Soon:
Town Center in Palm Coast
DeLand (at International Speedway/Spring Garden Avenue)
Deltona (at Interstate 4 and State Road 72)
