My dad owned this theater and the Royal Theater in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Ritz never did as well as the Royal and always seemd to be second class behind the Royal. In 1960 or 61, my dad closed the Ritz and my mother took it over. They removed all the theater seats and other “theater” stuff and it was completely redone as a teenage dance club called The Peppermint Lounge. Everything was done in red and white and the ladies bathroom was so cute with peppermint striped chairs. The old concessions area remained a concessions area but instead of candy and popcorn, they sold hamburgers, hot dogs and corn dogs. The Peppermint Lounge lasted only a year or two and my parents sold the Ritz/Peppermint Lounge entirely. I remember in its later years, it was transformed back into a theater and was renamed The Show and showed all x-rated movies (to my mother’s disgust). My parents kept the Royal until sometime in the 1970’s when it was sold.
This was my Dad’s theater from the 1940’s until the 1970’s when he sold it. He owned the Royal and the Ritz Theaters in Gainesville, Ga. My sister, brother and I grew up in the Royal. I remember my Dad making sure the popcorn was done to perfection! When the movies would change, he would drive all over town the night before and change all the movie posters for the new movie. We got to ride with him and it was so much fun. I had the original movie poster to 101 Dalmations! I could tell a million stories about those two theaters but I would use up a lot if space…
My dad owned this theater and the Royal Theater in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The Ritz never did as well as the Royal and always seemd to be second class behind the Royal. In 1960 or 61, my dad closed the Ritz and my mother took it over. They removed all the theater seats and other “theater” stuff and it was completely redone as a teenage dance club called The Peppermint Lounge. Everything was done in red and white and the ladies bathroom was so cute with peppermint striped chairs. The old concessions area remained a concessions area but instead of candy and popcorn, they sold hamburgers, hot dogs and corn dogs. The Peppermint Lounge lasted only a year or two and my parents sold the Ritz/Peppermint Lounge entirely. I remember in its later years, it was transformed back into a theater and was renamed The Show and showed all x-rated movies (to my mother’s disgust). My parents kept the Royal until sometime in the 1970’s when it was sold.
This was my Dad’s theater from the 1940’s until the 1970’s when he sold it. He owned the Royal and the Ritz Theaters in Gainesville, Ga. My sister, brother and I grew up in the Royal. I remember my Dad making sure the popcorn was done to perfection! When the movies would change, he would drive all over town the night before and change all the movie posters for the new movie. We got to ride with him and it was so much fun. I had the original movie poster to 101 Dalmations! I could tell a million stories about those two theaters but I would use up a lot if space…