Movies Inc.

MOVIE THEATER PLANNED TO OPEN IN ARANSAS PASS IN EARLY 2020 Aransas Pass hasn’t had a movie theater in decades.  The Farnsworth family is changing that. The Rockport natives plan to open a movie theater in early September, which will be 20,000 square feet, have six screens and sell beer and wine. Construction started last week on the Movies Inc. location at 1277 SH 35, between Butter Churn restaurant and Allen Samuels auto dealership.  The locally owned theater will be the second Movies Inc. in the area. The Farnsworths opened a four-screen theater in Calallen in May 2014. Mark Farnsworth, 62; his wife, Mary Farnsworth, 66, and their son; Zach Farnsworth, 27, all own the theater and live in Rockport. Mark Farnsworth said his son proposed the idea to open a theater in Calallen because there wasn’t one for a good distance.  “I said to Zach, ‘What do you know about movie theaters?’ He said, ‘Nothing, but I like movies,’” Farnsworth said. “He did all the preliminary work. We got financing and here we are. It’s been a good idea, and it’s been well received in Calallen, and I know it will be the same or better in Aransas Pass.” The new Movies Inc. will have stadium seating so none of the moviegoers will have the view of the back of someone’s head. The seats will be large and have brown leather, making them easier to clean, and the floors will be concrete.  "It’s going to be new state-of-the-art stuff — new stuff — new sound system, new projectors,” Farnsworth said. “We’re investing a substantial amount (into this theater.)”

WHY ARANSAS PASS? The town of about 8,200 residents doesn’t currently have a movie theater. A movie theater in nearby Rockport previously closed following Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. The next nearest movie house is Northshore Cinema 8 in Portland. “We still think there is a need,” Farnsworth said. “This location in Aransas Pass (will) be the center of the wheel — 10 miles to Portland, 10 miles to Port A, 10 miles to Port A, 10 miles to Rockport.” The family chose Aransas Pass because it’s a good location to serve other surrounding communities that don’t have a movie theater either.

LOCAL IMPACT Aransas Pass city manager Gary Edwards said the theater will serve about 50,000 residents in the area and millions of tourists who visit, which will have a positive economical impact on the city.  “We anticipate it will assist businesses in this immediate area,” he said. “It (also) will help the sales tax (revenue). We anticipate by a fair amount.”

FARNSWORTHS TO DEVELOP MORE The Farnsworths' plans in Aransas Pass don’t stop with the movie theater. They also plan to build a 10,000-square-foot shopping center on the same property, which they are pre-leasing right now. They don’t have a timeline yet for the shopping center. Exactly how it is built depends on what businesses lease the space. The tenants will be retail related, because the family doesn’t want the center’s businesses to compete with the neighboring restaurant or auto dealership.  The city manager said the Farnsworths care about the area.  “Mr. Farnsworth and his family are great to work with,” Edwards said. "They’re wonderful people and have a great interest in the community."