Kendall Park Cinemas

Route 27,
Kendall Park, NJ 08824

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50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on July 14, 2023 at 12:10 pm

Closed on September 6, 1999.

shamrockboy
shamrockboy on December 29, 2017 at 12:27 am

while the lack of foot traffic in the kendall park shopping center certainly did not help, a big factor in the closing of kendall park cinemas was competition. after kpc opened in the spring of 1991, it had a few years of no real direct competitors until loews new brunswick opened in november 1996.

then regal north brunswick opened just a few miles away on route 1 in march 1999. these 2 high-profile major corporation movie theaters with stadium seating (a new offering at the time) put a real dent in profitability for the small independent.

plus, during this time frame, montgomery cinemas (another independent), which while it did not directly compete with kpc as it showed mainly art house and independent films, refurbished and expanded its theater.

i think all this competition was just too much for owners, bernie goldberg and bruce silverstein, to withstand. plus, it never helped that south brunswick township did not allow the owners to have a marquee at the road or even on the building.

NOTE: the theater name is actually “kendall park cinemas”.

rivest266
rivest266 on August 28, 2017 at 9:47 am

Article

Found on Newspapers.com

and

Found on Newspapers.com

rivest266
rivest266 on August 28, 2017 at 9:45 am

This opened on May 24th, 1991. Grand opening ad with a picture can be found in the photo section.

dp1991
dp1991 on July 19, 2017 at 3:12 pm

I worked there the summer of 1991. I had no idea about the picketing, and a HS friend was a projectionist there. I remember that it was impossible to find a summer job that year – and the choice was this or the midnight shift at the McDonalds Drive thru.

shamrockboy
shamrockboy on October 22, 2011 at 7:41 pm

there were actually only 7 screens – two large (around 300 seat), 1 just over 180, and 4 around 120 seats. it did open in 1991, one of the first movies playing there was hudson hawk, which came out in may 1991. and later robin hood: prince of thieves, which came out in june 1991.

oh, and the controversy was not about using automated equipment, it was about using non-unionized projectionists – namely me! ;–)

markp
markp on January 10, 2008 at 9:31 pm

I was one of those union projectionists who picketed this theatre. I believe it was spring of 1991.

teecee
teecee on September 11, 2006 at 6:54 pm

“At one time, the shopping mall was a popular spot. A diner, a movie theater and a roller skating rink attracted shoppers. But no new lease had been signed at the mall since 1995, and, in 1999, the seven-screen Kendall Park Movie Theater closed.”

extracted from The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), Oct 17, 2003 p021