“The world has taken a couple weeks off.”
The words of Greg Marcus, the “Milwaukee Movie Man” who runs the city’s national movie theater group, dive into why Marcus Theatres is closing its doors for now in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marcus has decided to close for now, effective after the 8:30 p.m. movies on Tuesday night.
“At Marcus Theatres and Movie Tavern, the safety and well-being of guests and associates remains our top priority,” said Rolando Rodriguez, chairman, president and CEO of Marcus Theatres in a company statement.
“We’ve had many precautions in place that were guided by best practices from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), state and local authorities. Now the guidance is clear that temporarily closing is the right thing to do. It’s important that we help our nation’s preventive efforts with this outbreak for the benefit of our guests, associates and the communities in which we do business.”
“On the one hand, it was a really tough decision. It’s almost hard to imagine. Who fathoms that we’re going to close the theaters? It makes it extremely hard. It has huge impacts on people’s lives and our associates, our community,” Marcus told WTMJ’s John Mercure on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News.
“On the other hand, it became a relatively easy decision. It talks about the importance of having strong community. If you don’t have a strong community, you don’t have a strong business. If you are part of a community, you have a responsibility.”
The company said that many of its employees will receive compensation and benefits assistance.
Marcus also spoke to the hope and anticipation people will have for the moment this pandemic is done, and the temporary “new normal” will end, along with people’s “hibernation” as they self-social distance from each other.
“After this period of ‘lockdown’ and really hunkering down, there are a lot of people who want to get out. That’s going to be good,” said Marcus, who even joked about his own dates with his wife.
“It’s temporary. Our date night will be back.”