Movie theaters prepare for COVID re-opening. For some, that means they’re hiring
Movie theaters in the Modesto area are preparing for an eventual re-opening once local COVID-19 restrictions loosen again across Stanislaus County.
Galaxy Theatres in Riverbank is hiring for at least three floor staff positions, according to their website and social media feeds.
“If you’re a hard-working, movie-loving, fun, and friendly individual, you’re just the person we’re looking for,” reads a Facebook post advertising the job openings.
The theater, which is currently only selling popcorn and eventually plans to hold private screenings, will increase staff once allowed to re-open. Stanislaus County is still in the most restrictive purple tier, which prohibits indoor operations for movie theaters.
Galaxy Theatres could not be reached for comment.
Brenden Theatres in Modesto is also eagerly waiting to re-open, said general manager Saul Trujillo.
“We plan on reopening as soon as we can,” he said. “End of this month would be great but we’re obviously planning to wait until we’re out of the purple.”
When re-opened, Trujillo said his theater plans on following all safety restrictions for masking, performing health screenings for employees and installing plexiglass dividers at the concessions booths.
Customers will also be required to wear masked unless they’re in their seats and eating, and the seats themselves will be spaced out to accommodate social distancing.
Trujillo said Brenden Theatres currently has no plans to hire more staff once they re-open, and want to focus instead on bringing their current employees back from furlough. At the start of the pandemic, he said his theater applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, which allowed them to cover payroll costs, but when that ran out their employees went on furlough.
“We could be doing better but we’re doing okay,” he said.
With an anticipated light schedule once the theater re-opens — Trujillo said he expects slow business at the beginning as people decide whether or not they feel comfortable returning to a movie theater — Brenden’s focus will be on getting their “loyal” staff back to work and scaling the business up again.
Still, Trujillo said he’s “pretty optimistic about the future” and that he’s excited to get up and going and “for our industry to bounce back.”
“People are overall tired of being cooped up and once we get to less restrictive tiers, people will be itching to go out to the movies with their families,” Trujillo said.
This story was produced with financial support from the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
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This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 11:33 AM.
