It’s lights out for the AMC Encinitas 8
North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA
ENCINITAS — The only multiplex cinema in Encinitas has closed to make way
for retail stores, officials from the Kansas City-based theater chain said

ENCINITAS — The only multiplex cinema in Encinitas has closed to make way for retail stores, officials from the Kansas City-based theater chain said Wednesday.

The theater closed Jan. 28 because the El Camino Promenade strip mall “is undergoing redevelopment per the current landlord,” AMC spokeswoman Melanie Bell said in a written statement.

The AMC Encinitas 8 opened in 1982.

Since 2005, the movie house on El Camino Real has operated on a month-to-month lease. At that time, owners of the El Camino Promenade shopping mall said that AMC had declined to renew its long-term lease because the complex was old and did not offer stadium-style seating.

The Houston-based landlord, Weingarten Realty Investors, plans to raze the theater building and two adjoining restaurants to make way for two large stores, according to planning documents.

The Encinitas Planning Commission approved the development proposal in October.

A shopper at the strip mall Wednesday recalled better days for the theater.

“Everyone came here from Encinitas,” said Kia Moore, near dozens of empty parking spaces in front of the dark building.

Moore said she and her boyfriend enjoyed dinner and the latest James Bond movie at the mall just last month.

“I’ve been coming here forever,” she said.

An Encinitas planner said Wednesday that a Weingarten representative submitted paperwork for building permits earlier this week.

A Weingarten vice president, however, would not say when he expected construction to begin.

Neil Soskin declined to comment on the company’s plans in Encinitas because “a couple of last-minute wrinkles have arisen,” he said.

One wrinkle appears to be the company’s restaurant tenants next to the theater.

Dan Totah, owner of The Sandwich Station, said Wednesday that his lease is good for seven more years and that the landlord hadn’t offered him a comparable space.

“The Subway Station is going to stay open until we choose to close,” Totah said.

Soskin declined to comment on Totah’s situation.

In an October interview, Soskin said that a Staples office supply store would be one tenant of the planned building and that negotiations with a second tenant were incomplete.

The Planning Commission’s action in October also would allow the developer to raze a Unocal service station at the shopping center and replace it with a 5,000-square-foot store, but Soskin said at the time that the company had no immediate plans to do so.

El Camino Promenade opened as Weigand Plaza in 1982 with a six-screen AMC theater. The outdoor shopping mall was owned by one of Encinitas’ pioneer families, the Weigands, and was among the first of many along the now-booming El Camino Real corridor.

In 1991, the theater added two more screens, increasing its capacity to 1,600 patrons.

Still, the Encinitas theater remained smaller than many newer ones that have opened in nearby communities. San Marcos and Vista have 18-screen cinemas, and Oceanside has 16-screen and 13-screen theaters.

The only remaining movie theater in Encinitas is the single-screen La Paloma that opened in 1928 and today shows second-run films, surf movies, and occasionally has theatrical productions and other special events.

In her statement, AMC spokeswoman Melanie Bell would not say whether the company plans to open a new theater to serve the Encinitas market.

“We do not discuss potential locations until we have executed a lease, letter of intent or purchase agreement,” she said.