The time has finally come! After an 18 month delay, South Bay Movie Theaters have finally launched phrase one of renovations. The anticipation of the remodeling of the 51-year old movie theaters has finally begun in April. South Bay Cinemas, located on 495 West Montauk Highway, announced on its Facebook page on April 13 that renovation was finally being scheduled to begin. The remodeled cinema is expected to reopen on November 2018 and show movies such as The Grinch, Fantastic Beasts and Wreck It Ralph 2.

In September 2016, South Bay Cinemas announced plans to remodel their theater and reopen for the 50th anniversary last spring. However, due to negotiating issues between the cinema company and the landlord, work on the building was delayed. South Bay will reopen as a five screen theater, but will eventually house eight screens. In addition, there will be all new luxury seating, state of the art surround sound system in the main auditorium, hot foods from the concession stand, beer and wine, online ticketing, reserved seating, and more. Luckily, for the general public, ticket prices will stay the same and still offer the same inexpensive family friendly atmosphere.

Due to its low prices and family friendly atmosphere, South Bay has maintained its reputation, pulling in hundreds of people to enjoy their movies. Once South Bay closed 18 months ago, the public was devastated and were anxious to see what the new renovation will look like. According to Ashley Burnell, a local West Babylon resident, “before South Bay closed down I used to go there all of the time, when they closed down it wasn’t surprising since it was so old, but the fact that the remodeling took so long is ridiculous.” Residents were disappointed to find out that the remodeling was delayed, and the South Bay cinemas was deemed an abandoned building for a long period of time. Therefore, the announcement of the beginning of the renovation came as a pleasant surprise. Hopefully, the disputes between the movie company and the landlord don’t re-awaken, or else all of this “hype” will be for nothing, and just end up as another disappointment.

Lastly, the general public can now be able to look forward to the opening of the inexpensive luxury, “new-and- improved” cinemas in November! It’s about time!