Wow, I have been pretty busy. We are now 9 days after the opening of the theater and things are starting to fall into place. Over the past year, I have been working full time on planning, financing, building and now operating the new Zeus in Waynesboro. I can honestly say that I have never worked so hard in all my life.
Looking back on the construction, things went pretty well. My GC, Jon Sweringen was fantastic to work with. He kept me sane during a hectic schedule. We had shot for an opening on October 1st but ended up hitting October 8th. The punch list is short and the building looks great.
I would like to point out that there were plenty of the "old guard" and so called experts who happily predicted our failure. They were wrong on all accounts. Jon and I brought the building in pretty close to a tight budget and timeline. I doubt any of the old money builders could have done better. So there.
On the theater, it looks great. The lobby has a sense of community. It really feels like a fancy hotel lobby. We now have leather seating in the lobby. I have met many people who enjoy just sitting in the lobby and talking.
The theaters are fantastic. Seating is great. Sound is great. Not too much bleed from one theater to another on the noise. The HVAC is working well.
We still haven't hit full capacity yet. This week will be a real test. We are running Paranormal Activity 1 and 2 on Thursday/Friday Midnight showing. I expect to run two screens full for that one show.
The retail store is doing fine. Christmas will be the big rush I think. The party room will get going this week. Groups and fund raising start this week as well.
So far, everything is going according to plan.
The best part is when people ask me what chain Zeus belongs to. I love pointing out that this is the only one. Normally, they are shocked to hear that a single entrepreneur can just make up a brand, finance it, build it and run it all by himself. We have go to stop saying that the American Dream is dead. It isn't. The dream is there for those who are willing to risk everything they have and to work 100+ hours a week.
