View Full Version : All Star Factory
cazmanian_minx
06-Nov-11, 09:18
Every time I drive past the place it makes me sad. Does anyone know if anyone's interested in the place at the moment? I'd really love to get it going again, but unless I won the lottery last night I'd be needing a huge business loan and as many grants as I could get my hands on! Cinema For Thurso Group reckons it needs £250k spending: http://www.picturehousecinema.eu/save-our-cinema.html
I've read all the previous threads on the org :D - is this a fair representation of what people would like to see? A few of my own ideas added in as well...
Cinemas - repair seats, get heating working, clean carpet, upgrade projection system to digital, upgrade larger screen to 3D. Lower ticket prices, cheaper for earlier, weekly 'coffee morning club' for parents and kids, Orange Wednesdays, half price Tuesdays, group/family discounts, an annual pass, look at possibility of using as a performance venue, get new releases on day of release rather than a month later, midnight showings for really big new releases.
Bowling alley - all equipment refurbished, leagues reintroduced, cheap Saturday and Sunday morning bowling for families.
Bar - I may have been watching too much Man v. Food, but I'd love to turn it into an American-style diner. Burgers made from good Caithness beef, fries cut from John O'Groats tatties, proper thick milkshakes, free refills on tea, coffee and fizzy drinks, BIG sandwiches, pancakes, waffles, sundaes, nachos with chilli and cheese...
What else? I'd put in a soft play area with cafe tables around the edge, so parents could come and have a meal or a drink and a natter while their kids let off steam with their friends and make creche facilities available for parents who want to watch a film in peace or something that's not age appropriate for their children. Birthday parties, obviously - bowling and a meal or cinema and a meal or bowling, cinema and a meal as a package, all with a big birthday cake with sparklers in it and a decorated table with party hats for the younger ones. And no alcohol served on the premises, which may make me unpopular, but there are plenty of places you can drink in Thurso and it increases the chance of it being a proper family-friendly venue.
Whaddya think?? Would you use a place like that (assuming prices were reasonable - I see that the current mobile cinema is charging £6 for adults and £5 for kids with various deals and discounts available, which seems fair to me) or would it go bust again in a couple of years?
It's a big ask Caz. IMHO the problem is that no single person/organisation could risk the venture. There might be various funding packages to enable it to be taken into community ownership, but the venue would then have to cater for multipule uses and that takes a huge amount of organisational skill.
It's a big ask Caz. IMHO the problem is that no single person/organisation could risk the venture. There might be various funding packages to enable it to be taken into community ownership, but the venue would then have to cater for multipule uses and that takes a huge amount of organisational skill.
Get some windmills built around Thurso and use the "benefit fund" to finance the venture.
Get bingo going too, always onto a winner there. I remember when they had bingo on in the pavilion in Wick. the queues went on forever. Mind you I hate the game myself!
Previously, on two occasions, Caithnesians have shown complete apathy towards The All Star Factory/Viking Bowl. That's why it closed it's doors. So what makes you think it would be a success the third time around?
Only a fool would invest money in that place.
Bobinovich
06-Nov-11, 13:01
You've pretty much hit the nail on the head CM as far as what most people want, but I have to disagree with you Giz - IMO the place closed it's doors twice due to mismanagement by the same team. I would consider investing money in the place if a consortium of like-minded folk could be found, but doubt the current climate is favourable - both for getting money out of banks, and for potential customers already struggling to cope with the financial downturn. However would probably be a good time to buy as I'm sure the owners and those getting the refurb work would be grateful of the business...maybe!
You've pretty much hit the nail on the head CM as far as what most people want, but I have to disagree with you Giz - IMO the place closed it's doors twice due to mismanagement by the same team. I would consider investing money in the place if a consortium of like-minded folk could be found, but doubt the current climate is favourable - both for getting money out of banks, and for potential customers already struggling to cope with the financial downturn. However would probably be a good time to buy as I'm sure the owners and those getting the refurb work would be grateful of the business...maybe!
I only had dealings with the front of house manageress, and she was horrid, with zero people skills. As for the rest of them, I can't comment. But even in the early days, before it became a broken down tatty mess, and from what I could see with my own eyes each time I visited the place, there just never seemed to be enough people in the place to make it profitable. Which of course means that there would be very little money for repairs etc, which inevitably led it to the state it was in when it closed.
Only the biggest hollywood blockbusters drew a sizeable crowd into the cinema, and many times when I went there on a Friday/Saturday night to watch a movie, there would only be 20/30 other people in the main auditorium. Yet the pubs in town would be packed full of people. Caithnesians are great at shouting that there is nothing to do other than go to the pubs, but when they are given something different to do, they use it to begin with, then stop going and just drift back off to the pubs.
cezzy1234
06-Nov-11, 17:09
could we could get the community together and all take part in fixing it i would love it to get it back
as my kids miss it like mad we had good times there..
Previously, on two occasions, Caithnesians have shown complete apathy towards The All Star Factory/Viking Bowl. That's why it closed it's doors. So what makes you think it would be a success the third time around?
Only a fool would invest money in that place.
Caithnessians, I think, found the ticket too expensive for experience they were getting. Remote areas cannot charge large city prices because they have a limited audience. They need to get their clients coming back every week and not just ocassionally as an expensive treat.
cazmanian_minx
06-Nov-11, 18:26
Thanks for all the input so far, it's really interesting to hear everyone's views.
Caithnessians, I think, found the ticket too expensive for experience they were getting. Remote areas cannot charge large city prices because they have a limited audience. They need to get their clients coming back every week and not just ocassionally as an expensive treat.
As far as I am aware, rural Cinema's don't get discounted film reels. The Cinema experience that they provided was as good as any large city cinema, and when it first opened, the ticket price was reasonable enough.
Whay all this talk of community ownership?
The place is owned by Gunns and is not for sale as far as I am aware.
Hey folks, I'm involved with some of the Cinema For Thurso activities (when I can fit it in around other stuff!). If anyone is interested in what we do/wants to get involved then you can email us at info@picturehousecinema.eu (on the Picture House Cinema website) or you can just drop me a private message.
N
Nick Noble
07-Nov-11, 19:08
Brilliant thread cazmanian_minx and spot on for developments. I have had the same thoughts myself many times.
I wondered about trying to get it off the ground as a community enterprise and wondered about trying to get say 200 investors at £1000 each to get things off the ground.
I'd look at running it without at licensed bar, that can be off putting to many people.
But I certainly believe that it could be done successfully.
Prices for films need to be kept reasonable, and reasonable prices for snacks, sweets, drinks etc. There is not going to be a big profit in it for anyone, but on a not for profit basis I reckon it can be done and I would certainly be very happy to be involved in trying to get it off the ground.
Gogglebox
07-Nov-11, 19:32
Would make a good not for profit Community Centre. Thurso doesnt really have such a thing since the Town Hall became the museum.
All the rural areas have a community focal point, Wick has the Assembly Rooms, Castletown has Drill Hal, Halkirk Ross INstitute Thurso has nothing now that i can think of
porshiepoo
07-Nov-11, 19:37
Every time I drive past the place it makes me sad. Does anyone know if anyone's interested in the place at the moment? I'd really love to get it going again, but unless I won the lottery last night I'd be needing a huge business loan and as many grants as I could get my hands on! Cinema For Thurso Group reckons it needs £250k spending: http://www.picturehousecinema.eu/save-our-cinema.html
I've read all the previous threads on the org :D - is this a fair representation of what people would like to see? A few of my own ideas added in as well...
Cinemas - repair seats, get heating working, clean carpet, upgrade projection system to digital, upgrade larger screen to 3D. Lower ticket prices, cheaper for earlier, weekly 'coffee morning club' for parents and kids, Orange Wednesdays, half price Tuesdays, group/family discounts, an annual pass, look at possibility of using as a performance venue, get new releases on day of release rather than a month later, midnight showings for really big new releases.
Bowling alley - all equipment refurbished, leagues reintroduced, cheap Saturday and Sunday morning bowling for families.
Bar - I may have been watching too much Man v. Food, but I'd love to turn it into an American-style diner. Burgers made from good Caithness beef, fries cut from John O'Groats tatties, proper thick milkshakes, free refills on tea, coffee and fizzy drinks, BIG sandwiches, pancakes, waffles, sundaes, nachos with chilli and cheese...
What else? I'd put in a soft play area with cafe tables around the edge, so parents could come and have a meal or a drink and a natter while their kids let off steam with their friends and make creche facilities available for parents who want to watch a film in peace or something that's not age appropriate for their children. Birthday parties, obviously - bowling and a meal or cinema and a meal or bowling, cinema and a meal as a package, all with a big birthday cake with sparklers in it and a decorated table with party hats for the younger ones. And no alcohol served on the premises, which may make me unpopular, but there are plenty of places you can drink in Thurso and it increases the chance of it being a proper family-friendly venue.
Whaddya think?? Would you use a place like that (assuming prices were reasonable - I see that the current mobile cinema is charging £6 for adults and £5 for kids with various deals and discounts available, which seems fair to me) or would it go bust again in a couple of years?
Completely agree.
Caithness/Sutherland NEED something like this.
No alcohol is perfect, like you say, there's plenty of other places to get blotto'ed and this would make it all the more family friendly.
Bingo may be a good way to go. It's extremely popular and makes a good night out for some people.
Fab idea to use local suppliers for food.
The cinema seats never really bothered me, I was just glad to not have to go to Inverness for a decent film. The upstairs cinema waiting area could get a bit cramped with viewers going in as others are coming out but never really bothered me.
The sweet price was just ridiculous. We used to sneak our own in but if the prices had been half decent we would have bought them there.
Would be fabulous for someone to get hold of that premises and make a real go of it by running it properly, lets face it there's no competition up here.
I'm suprised some clever little beanie hasn't gotten hold of it so far, it's a good business opportunity for a savvy minded person as long as they can afford to wait for the place to make a profit.
Here's hoping something is done soon.
Brilliant thread cazmanian_minx and spot on for developments. I have had the same thoughts myself many times.
I wondered about trying to get it off the ground as a community enterprise and wondered about trying to get say 200 investors at £1000 each to get things off the ground.
I'd look at running it without at licensed bar, that can be off putting to many people.
But I certainly believe that it could be done successfully.
Prices for films need to be kept reasonable, and reasonable prices for snacks, sweets, drinks etc. There is not going to be a big profit in it for anyone, but on a not for profit basis I reckon it can be done and I would certainly be very happy to be involved in trying to get it off the ground.
That wouldnt even cover the cost of the buildings let alone the refurbishments.
Plus the small fact that it isnt for sale.
cptdodger
07-Nov-11, 20:20
You're right mi16, it is not for sale - but it is for rent -
Former Cinema/Bowling Alley/ Bar
http://www.caithness-business.co.uk/image_cache/rp2005.jpg
Thurso Offers
Large former All Star Factory cinema, bowling and bar.
Would suit former use or alternative uses such as offices or industrial.
Up to 13,000sq.ft plus ample parking available.
E-mail: stephen@gunnproperty.co.uk
Phone: 0141 221 3500
And at least there are people on here that are trying to come up with solutions as to how to get a cinema back into Thurso.
I knew it was up for rent, I wouldnt be willing to invest £1k of my cash into a £200k enterprise when the asset woulnt be owned by the consortium.
At the end of the day we have had 3 cinema enterprises in Thurso in my memory and none of which have proved sustainable.
cptdodger
07-Nov-11, 23:20
It's actually irrelevant whether you would or would not invest x amount of cash into a project concerning a cinema. The fact is, there are people on this thread that would be willing to do so, it would only work however, if they could get the community behind them. And well done to Cazmanian_minx, who has put a lot of thought into this.
In West Lothian, Bathgate's Regal Cinema became a community venture in 1995 and is still running today as a Community Theatre with all sorts of shows, events, workshops etc. Details here (http://www.bathgateregal.org/about-us) I don't know if there would be enough going on here-abouts to make use of the theatre to sustain it.
3 cinemas, 3 failures
It doesnt take much thinking now does it.
lets face reality here, Thurso is far too small for a privately funded cinema to survive
In West Lothian, Bathgate's Regal Cinema became a community venture in 1995 and is still running today as a Community Theatre with all sorts of shows, events, workshops etc. Details here (http://www.bathgateregal.org/about-us) I don't know if there would be enough going on here-abouts to make use of the theatre to sustain it.
Bathgate has near double the population of Thurso I am afraid
Bathgate has near double the population of Thurso I am afraid
The point is we are not just talking about Thurso, a cinema would be for the whole of Caithness. I know there is no way the county could support a cinema in Wick and Thurso as it used to, but I would of thought that one properly run cinema should be viable.
Why were that last two ventures not viable then? and what makes you suggest that it was not properly run? The viking bowl was a well established business in the area before they added on the cinema however once that was completed the end was not far away for them.
Caithness cinemas have a proven track record of spectacular failure, folk go for a few films then dont bother.
The cinema is a dear experience nowadays also, the three of us went to see a movie in Inverness the other week and by the time we bought our tickets and some snacks there was little change out of £35. I for one couldnt blow £35 on a movie each week.
Hen Broon
08-Nov-11, 10:25
The big problem is the expense of buying in the films, if you want a new release it takes at least the first weeks takings to pay for the film, it's after that the sinema can start making any profit, but the mentality of most people is to watch the film when it first comes out, after that the theatres are pretty empty. Unless there is anyway to get the films subsidised i doubt if it will work.
Well lets do the sums then.
We know it seats 240 people maximum.
We also know that movie rental firms take between 50% and 90% of the gross income.
SunsetSong
08-Nov-11, 19:09
The fact that its currently for rent rather than actually purchasing should be seen as a plus sign not a negative. With renting it in considering a community enterprise rather than running it as a for profit business renting is limiting the risk. Social Enterprise and running not for profit for the good of the community is high up on the list of buzz ventures that there are funding available for. There are other Community Film Enterprises in the Highlands who have benefited for funding. The difficulty in Cinema as others have mentioned is the prices for licensing for screenings and what would have to be paid to the movie rental firms for the screenings. Therefore to make the place viable you would need to show a mix of older films - maybe even some arthouse or independant films - which are cheaper and as had been previously mentioned, Thurso is in desperate need for some kind of community venue for performances, conferences etc. That would help to sustain the bigger blockbuster movies.
However what it really needs is a very strong group who are inventive to get behind it and come up with events, special offers, innovative ways of marketing it and a good vision to apply for funding in the first place. There is definitely funding that I think would be available - is certainly suitable to be applied for. And there are lots of examples of places where social enterprise is working fabulously, take Artysans Cafe in Inverness, winner at the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards, the place is flying and is the fore runner to the social enterprise hotel that is planned there. Don't we all complain at the lack of training opportunities for young people and people trying to get into work? Social enterprise provides that.
In the current climate core funding is hard to get but it is out there....just takes a really strong group with a good strong vision to get it. There would be no need for private investors etc then. I'm by no means an expert but if a group was to be formed as a result of this post then would be very interested in being involved.
SunsetSong
08-Nov-11, 19:18
Just out of interest....how many people are going to the screenings in Skinandis??
cazmanian_minx
08-Nov-11, 19:46
The Caithness and North Sutherland Fund has an informal road show even at the North Coast Leisure Centre (itself a brilliant example of how a community facility can work) on Thursday - I'm going to try and get to it and see what they have to say. The poster says:
"The aim of the fund is to help people of Caithness and North Sutherland by giving money to increase the attractiveness of Caithness and North Sutherland as a place to live, work and invest with particular emphasis on achieving environment, social, culture and infrastructure improvements."
Sounds like the cinema would fall into that quite neatly.
SunsetSong
08-Nov-11, 20:05
I was at the launch for the new fund, it will bring assistance to some projects in the area and for this would hope that they would support it! more information on it is here http://www.cnsf.org.uk/ however the maximum available in a single year is £30,000 and it looks like they won't support projects on a year on year basis - meaning that would be available as a one off. From the launch they would prefer I think to have match funding in place however they may be able to fund a proper feasibility study. I think that there are catagories in the Creative Scotland Funding that would be applicable and also Leader and Lottery Funding.
SunsetSong
08-Nov-11, 20:07
Oh was also going to say that heating is on the wish list for getting the place up and running...believe that if a source of renewable energy was used then you can generally get funding for that! Also the cinema for thurso group mention funding being available for upgrading the cinema equipment. Sorry for taking over the thread....think I might disappear now....just quite enthusiastic for getting the place going again!!!!
cazmanian_minx
08-Nov-11, 20:16
Thanks SunsetSong, that's really helpful :)
More ideas - a takeaway counter in the restaurant to serve the school kids who don't fancy Thurso High lunches and people working on the industrial estate at lunchtimes, a cheap end-of-school-day film to keep kids occupied in the gap between school finishing and their parents finishing work or cheap bowling for 90 minutes after school...
I wonder if there would be any interest from local businesses in sponsorship - e.g. paying the week's rental for a blockbuster in return for an advert running at each showing or a flyer given out with every ticket sale? I know it won't help with the percentage of ticket take the cinema would still have to hand over, but it would certainly help to have the basic rental charges covered.
Edit: SunsetSong, please don't disappear, it's really nice to see the enthusiasm!
Just out of interest....how many people are going to the screenings in Skinandis??
excellent question, that would certainly help to gauge interest
SunsetSong
09-Nov-11, 00:10
Ok....I'm still here! Will PM you at some point Minx....just wanted to look into a couple of things first.
It certainly used to be a calling point for alot of the kids at the school for lunch, before the renovations were done to turn the bar into what it was latterly there was a take away counter that was very popular. Also though I know no alcohol is being muted around....certainly when I was at the college which granted we;re talking 15 years ago the place was a favourite with the students. You could barely get a seat at lunchtime. Also through booze sales....its a means to be sustainable, if the place was to work its got to be very adaptable and suit a variety of purposes. One of those can be functions, conferences too and if used as an arts venue, even if it is only catering to the wine and beer type of function, you would need to have it. Also think of boutique style independent cinemas down south, the way alot of them are surviving is by late night screenings - have a beer or glass or wine. Sorry for the booze thing to come up with students!!! Not making any assumptions lol!!
Yeah would definitely need to know how many are attending the screenings at Skinandis and elsewhere through the county that the Community Cinema are doing, also would be good for a feasibility study to try and guage how many folk in the county are travelling south with the purpose of visiting the cinema. If any funding was to be sought that's exactly what you need facts and figures about.
Tilly Teckel
09-Nov-11, 00:23
to make the place viable you would need to show a mix of older films
Sing-along-a-Sound of Music... or Grease... or Rocky Horror! Ooooh, costume theme nights! I'm getting very excited now, think I should go for a lie down :lol:
SunsetSong
09-Nov-11, 00:25
HaHa!! Considering the current trend on a night out in Thurso....having costume themed nights would go down a storm!!!
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