In SouthPark, a final night at the movies
In SouthPark, a final night at the movies
Plus: Is TD Bank Canadian?; Massive 'sexy orange' pumpkin wins at state fair; Plans unfold for former Mecklenburg Furniture site in Myers Park; Banks beat estimates; UNC's Leaky Black is anti-leaks
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After 26 years, Phillips Place’s movie theater closes with ‘Halloween Ends’; Nostalgia for the shows
As a kid, Trip Smith would visit Regal Phillips Place with his family, and on Sunday, he tucked his own kids into bed and headed to the theater alone to see the last movie showing: “Halloween Ends.” “Just the fact that it’s called Halloween Ends and it’s the last showtime feels like the right choice,” he said.
by Cristina Bolling
The marquee lights still shined bright and the popcorn smell still wafted strong Sunday night as a handful of moviegoers hustled into the very last showings before the Regal Phillips Place movie theater closed for good.
So it was understandable that some patrons had no idea they’d never cross the threshold again, or for some, that their first time there would be their last. Plans call for the building to be torn down and replaced by a 10-story office tower with ground-floor retail.
“Dang, that sucks!” exclaimed one woman when told of the theater’s closing as she raced in a few minutes late for the 7:45 p.m. showing of “The Woman King.”
“Well, that’s a shame,” said Stephen Wilson of Clover, S.C., who made the drive with his wife and daughter because it was the only theater in the region they could find that was still playing “Where the Crawdads Sing.”
The theater opened in November 1996. It was described at the time by The Charlotte Observer as having “such high-tech bells and whistles as stereo surround sound and digital sound” and “so-called stadium seating with tiers 20 inches apart to improve sight lines for patrons.” Last month, the parent company that owns Regal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said that some theaters would close or be consolidated as a result.
Perhaps the moviegoer most in his feelings was Trip Smith, 34, who tucked his two young kids into bed Sunday night and went by himself to the theater to honor the memories he’d made there through the years.
As a young boy, Smith’s family lived in Raleigh, but they would visit his grandparents in Charlotte and he’d go to the movies during holidays and other trips, seeing kid-friendly flicks with his sisters or action movies with his dad and his dad’s friends.
Now, Smith and his own family live in Charlotte, and while the movies aren’t a too-frequent treat, Regal Phillips Place remained his favorite theater because of the good times he’d had there growing up. And on Sunday, he couldn’t bear the thought of not saying goodbye.
“At 7:45 I was putting the kids to bed and I said, ‘Babe, I think the right thing for me to do is to come over here and to try to be the last person in here when it closes tonight,’” he said.
Smith is a pastor at Hope Community Church at the corner of Rea and Colony roads, and he said he even took a moment during the announcements portion of Sunday morning’s service to give a short tribute to the theater.
“The author C.S. Lewis talks about turning our nostalgia forward. Anything that we’re nostalgic for in the past is just a taste of what we’re meant for in the future,” Smith said, as the marquee lights shined down.
“So I’m hopeful. Maybe one day in heaven there will be movie theaters, and my family and my dad’s friends will all be back together again,” he said. “And we’ll probably see something better than Halloween Ends.”
Related Ledger articles:
“Roll the credits: Phillips Place movie theater to close after Sunday’s showings” (🔒, Friday)
“First Look: New Phillips Place office tower — tallest in SouthPark” (March 22)
Today’s supporting sponsors are T.R. Lawing Realty…
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You Ask, We Answer: Isn’t TD Bank based in Canada?
Welcome to the latest installment of “You Ask, We Answer,” The Ledger’s attempt to help improve your understanding of our city.
Have a question you’d like us to look into? Email us.
Often, in our “You Ask, We Answer” segment, we examine questions about development. But today’s reader question comes from the world of banking:
Why do news articles keep referring to TD Bank as being based in New Jersey? Isn’t it a Canadian bank?
Last month, TD Bank said in a news release that it’s opening 15 branches in Charlotte — starting with two next summer, on Beatties Ford Road and on Carmel Road. The press release had a dateline of “Cherry Hill, N.J.” and stated: “TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J.”
Local media largely went with that, with headlines such as “A New Jersey bank is headed to Charlotte” and “New Jersey-based TD Bank to build retail presence in Charlotte.”
But as our reader suggests, TD Bank is tied to Canada: Its parent company is The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, which trades on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. And in case you missed it in the name, “TD” is short for “Toronto-Dominion,” which could be a clue of the Canadian ownership that largely went unmentioned. (The Ledger went with the headline “Foreign bank to open Charlotte branches” and called it “Canadian-based.”)
We’d say it’s tricky to try to quickly describe companies with such corporate structures: Do you go with the characteristics of the subsidiary, or of the parent company? You see the same dynamic, for instance, with the I-77 toll road, operated by Charlotte-based I-77 Mobility Partners, which is owned by Spanish-based Cintra. Real estate developers commonly use subsidiary companies for projects, and in that case, naming only the subsidiary isn’t helpful to understanding who’s behind a development.
In this case, ideally, you’d include information about both the subsidiary and parent companies. —TM
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
Wednesday: Beyond Open Information Session, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Join us for a virtual event to learn about Beyond Open and three grant types that are available to help historically underserved small businesses obtain capital assets such as equipment, technology, real estate, and inventory. Register to attend. Free.
Wednesday: Beyond Open Drop-in Session from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 1017 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte. Drop in to learn more about Beyond Open grants that are available to help historically underserved small businesses obtain capital assets such as equipment, technology, real estate, and inventory. Free.
Oct. 21: Queens of Soul | Charlotte Symphony, 7:30pm to 9:30pm at Knight Theater, Charlotte. Celebrate the reigning divas of Soul and R&B in a symphonic tribute that spans six decades. Experience the iconic music of strong and soulful women like Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Gladys Knight, and more! $19 & up.
◼️ Check out the full Ledger events board.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
The state fair’s great pumpkin
The largest pumpkin at this year’s N.C. State Fair weighed 1,461 pounds and was grown by Chris Rodebaugh of Lewisburg, W.Va. The fair’s horticulture superintendent said: “The winning pumpkin is particularly pleasing — it is a color we call ‘sexy orange.’” In other fair news, the largest watermelon clocked in at 306 pounds, and a team from the Eastern North Carolina town of Maple Hill defended its title in tobacco looping — wrapping picked tobacco leaves on a stick — with a time of 1.06 seconds. The fair continues in Raleigh through Sunday. (Photo courtesy of N.C. State Fair.)
In brief:
Raleigh shooting suspect to be tried as adult: The 15-year-old detained by Raleigh police in connection with last week’s shooting that killed five people will be tried as an adult, Wake County’s district attorney said. The victims were a 29-year-old off-duty police officer headed to work; a 52-year-old human resources worker; a 49-year-old mother of three who loved running; a 34-year-old Navy veteran and former culinary student who was a Disney World “fanatic”; and a 16-year-old high school junior believed to be the older brother of the shooting suspect. (CNN)
New plans for Mecklenburg Furniture site: Charlotte Pipe & Foundry is planning to replace the old Mecklenburg Furniture building on Providence Road in Myers Park with a 40,000 s.f. structure referred to as a “product knowledge training facility,” according to rezoning documents filed with the city last week. The building, which would be roughly the same size as the one it replaces, could be up to 50 feet tall. Charlotte Pipe bought the 1.1-acre site for $6.75M last year, The Ledger reported at the time.
Apartments for North Tryon: Ascent Real Estate Capital is seeking a rezoning of a 1.3-acre parcel on North Tryon Street at Dalton Avenue, just outside uptown, to build 270 apartments and 6,000 s.f. of retail in a building 80 feet high. The site is near the Amtrak station and is across the street from the Extravaganza Depot, an event space that was recently bought by the owner of Suffolk Punch, The Observer reported last month.
In memoriam: Peter Zeiler, Mecklenburg County's economic development director for seven years, passed away this month at the age of 54. “Wherever he went, he helped build the vibrant infrastructure of cities that gave millions of people the opportunity to provide for their families,” his obituary said. (Axios Charlotte)
Arrests after football fight at Olympic: Two people were arrested following a fight among spectators at Olympic High School’s football game versus South Meck on Friday. The fight involved about 15 people, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials said. (WBTV)
Charlotte’s big banks beat estimates:
Bank of America’s profits fell 8% in the 3Q, but the bank beat analyst expectations in part because of gains in interest income, the bank said Monday morning. “Our U.S. consumer clients remained resilient with strong, although slower growing, spending levels and still maintained elevated deposit amounts,” CEO Brian Moynihan said in a news release. (CNBC)
Wells Fargo’s 3Q profits beat analysts’ expectations, but higher-than-anticipated costs related to litigation and regulations cut into profits, as did setting aside money for anticipated future loan losses. “We will continue to benefit from higher rates and ongoing disciplined expense management,” CEO Charlie Scharf said in a statement. “Both consumer and business customers remain in a strong financial condition.” (CNBC)
Vodka ad campaign: Charlotte ad agency BooneOakley says it’s behind a series of eyebrow-raising billboards popping up around town for a new vodka called Sextro. The ads feature vodka bottles and slogans such as “Have Sextro on the first date,” “Have Sextro all night long” and “Have Sextro with your grandma.” Co-founder Dave Oakley says his company isn’t “afraid to do things that a lot of agencies are” but that there’s been some pushback to the vodka ads because “not everyone thinks it’s funny.” (WCNC)
‘No leaks’ plumbing ad deal: UNC basketball player Leaky Black has signed an endorsement deal with Ease Plumbing of Cornelius that includes an ad with the slogan: “No leaks in this house.” (Inside Carolina)
Cheap getaways from CLT
Charlotte to New York, $99 round-trip on Spirit (nonstop), Nov. 10-14.
Charlotte to Orlando, $57 round-trip on Frontier (nonstop), Dec. 3-6.
Charlotte to Philadelphia, $97 round-trip on Frontier (nonstop), Nov. 10-14.
Charlotte to San Francisco, $177 round-trip on Frontier (one stop), Dec. 1-5.
Charlotte to Las Vegas, $187 round-trip on Frontier (nonstop), Dec. 9-12.
Charlotte to San Juan, Puerto Rico, $217 round-trip on Spirit (one stop), Dec. 8-14.
Charlotte to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, $330 round-trip on Spirit (one stop), Dec. 8-14.
Charlotte to Munich, Germany, $595 round-trip on Lufthansa (nonstop), Dec. 12-19.
Charlotte to Lisbon, Portugal, $446 round-trip on United/Lufthansa (one-stop), Jan. 30-Feb. 8.
Charlotte to Athens, Greece, $518 round-trip on Lufthansa (one-stop), March 26-April 4.
Source: Google Flights. Fares retrieved Monday morning. They might have changed by the time you read this.
Taking stock
Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project