By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
After five and a half years, ABCinema is doing well in a city which for years existed without a movie theater.
“We’ve been filling it up lately,” Barb Affolder (see photo) told city council at its recent meeting. “We’ve been having an exceptional amount of people coming from out of town.”
Barb and her husband, Corey, opened the downtown theater in May of 2017 and they, along with sons Tyler and Carter, operate the business.
The theater has two screens covering two storefronts and shows first-run movies for a mere $5.
She attended the council meeting since the business’ CF-1 form was before council. ABCinema had received a tax abatement from the city prior to opening. Businesses which do so are required to annually submit the form which shows if it has lived up to the commitments it had given to receive the abatement.
Council readily approved the CF-1.
Mayor Dan Rickord said a local theater had been a “want” for many local residents for many years.
“It’s been a positive thing for the city for the past five and a half years,” Affolder said.
Asked by Councilman Matt Dyer if the Affolders have had any staffing problems, Barb said they have not. Their staff of 17, mostly high school students, are paid up to $12.60 an hour.
Barb also is a real estate agent and Washington Twp. Clerk, while Corey owns a real estate and travel business and also serves as Washington Twp. Trustee.