Final Scene?

It’s hard to say who is sadder right now, Marco Movies owner Drake Heroy or the legions of local movie fans who don’t want to see the popular dine-in theater go away. Alas! Heroy said he’s hoping for a happy ending to save the 32-year-old theatre before its final curtain call at the end of April.

“We're exploring every possibility,” Heroy said, “every option to try to remain in this location and remain operating. We're open to all possibilities. We have a wonderful staff, and it's a shame because it's not just a loss for entertainment on Marco Island, because we're also one of the best restaurants on the island. So we’re definitely open to trying to continue for another 30 years. We'd love to.”

Heroy said Marco Movies was the first dine-in theater in the U.S. showing first-run movies when Nick Campo raised the curtains and debuted the kitchen’s comprehensive menu. Heroy took over ownership three years ago after partnering with Campo since 2014.

Heroy won’t tip his hand as to what it would take to keep Marco Movies in business.

"No comment on that,” he said, "but we’re open to possibilities.”

Heroy said his customers are taking the imminent closing hard.

“There are a lot of very disappointed people,” Heroy said, "that the theater is going away and it's all very sad. Everybody’s sad and disappointed, just wishing it wasn't so. Everybody's been very supportive. Folks are coming in and using their gift cards they've had saved up for a while, which is great. We want to make sure that everybody gets a chance to redeem those things before we have to close. There’s definitely been an uptick in business since the announcement. Everybody's showing up and supporting us, which is wonderful. And, you know, we love them for it." 

There’s no doubt that Marco Movies fills an entertainment void on Marco Island. The next closest theater is 18 miles away in downtown Naples.

“Everyone cares for the theater quite a bit,” Heroy said. “It's a big responsibility to be running that and I would love to keep it going. Because I think it’s culturally important; entertainment-wise, it's important for Marco Island. I think the closest movie theater would be all the way up at the Coastland Mall in Naples. That's just not a reasonable distance to travel for vacationers or even locals to go to watch a movie.”

Heroy, who takes pride in the culinary side of the operation, said many are surprised to learn that the theater does a brisk take-out business.

 “It's one of those things that’s probably not as widely known,” he said, "because your first thought isn’t to get takeout from the movie theater. We put a lot into the quality and preparation of the food. We do a large amount of takeout popcorn. Chicken wings are one of the things that are very popular, and cheeseburgers for takeout. The food is excellent. Sometimes the movies don’t deliver something for everybody to watch. But customers still want to have their weekly fix of the food. So we do takeout. It's been great for us.”

Another fallout to the closing is the displacement of the theater’s fine staff, who are largely responsible for Marco Movie’s wholesome atmosphere.

“Most of our staff,” Heroy said, "we've had for a very long time. The kitchen staff has been here for a long time. Most of our servers have been here for a very long time. Our food runners start sometimes in their early teens and work here for a number of years and end up becoming servers and continue on. There's not a huge amount of turnover because I think everybody really enjoys the environment, and I think everybody does a wonderful job. We try to take care of them. Since we've all known each other for so long, it's just a great team. Just great people. We've always been fortunate to have just great staff for all the years that we've been open. It's really down to them for the success of Marco Movies over the years. The food and the service, and the cleanliness of the establishment.”

Unless someone rides in to save the theater in its final scene, Marco Movies will be gone forever. Heroy obviously appreciates the community for being behind them over the years.

“If it's not to be,” Heroy said, "we thank them for 32 years of supporting us. Thank them for coming out and helping us out and supporting our business. Hopefully, they've enjoyed the time that they've spent and shared some good memories. And hopefully there will be more to come.”