Westhampton Beach's Sunset Theater reopening Friday after 3-year renovation project
The historic Sunset Theater in Westhampton Beach is scheduled to reopen on Friday after closing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Sunset Theater
A Westhampton Beach movie theater will reopen on Friday after three years of renovations and planning.
The Sunset Theater is the latest in a series of shuttered East End cinemas that have been independently purchased or renovated to serve as cultural hubs for their communities — particularly in walkable villages like Southampton, Sag Harbor and Greenport.
Westhampton Beach resident Inge Debyser bought the theater, which originally opened in 1927, with a small group of investors in 2022 for $1.15 million.
"Small village movie theaters really attribute to the spirit, the heartbeat of a community," she said in an interview with Newsday. "A village cinema has personal ambience and warmth."
The theater is expected to have a positive economic impact on Westhampton Beach, said Kim Clark, the executive director of the Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce.
"The community is overwhelmingly happy to have a movie theater back," Clark said. "When patrons come to the theater, they will hopefully take a walk around our village and visit our restaurants. They'll come to the theater, have a bite to eat, stop by one of our galleries. It will bring another dimension to our village."
The theater, previously known as Hampton Arts I & II, has operated under several owners over the years. In 2014, the struggling theater launched a Kickstarter to help the business purchase two digital projectors, but raised just $30,726 of its $125,000 goal.
The venue eventually closed in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as did many other theaters across the country, and never reopened.
However, independent movie theaters have seen a resurgence since the pandemic, especially in small towns, said Bruce Nash, founder of the industry tracking firm The Numbers.
"There's been a rethinking of the model for these small theaters," Nash said. "There's [a focus on] 'how do we embed within the community?'"
The Sunset Theater will open with new release "The Legend of Ochi" on one of its screens and a mix of older movies like "ET" and "Pulp Fiction" on its second screen.
A mix of first-run movies and independent screenings can attract different groups to the cinema, according to Nash.
Similarly, the North Fork Arts Center in Greenport will screen box office hit "A Minecraft Movie" this weekend, as well as a selection of short films from the Museum of the Moving Image.
Much like other independent Long Island theaters that have undergone major renovations and been revived in recent years — including the Southampton Playhouse, Sag Harbor Cinema and the North Fork Arts Center — the Sunset Theater plans to launch a nonprofit arm, which Nash said is increasingly common for independent theaters.
"Theaters are often looking for support from their town or other nonprofits," Nash said.
Debyser said that she hopes to establish the nonprofit this fall and host educational and enrichment programs for the community.
"There are so many things we want to do," Debyser said. "We could do camps, classes on film writing and editing."
But for now, she said, the goal is to reopen as a year-round theater with a strong film line up. The theater plans to hire local staff and remain open seven days a week.
A Westhampton Beach movie theater will reopen on Friday after three years of renovations and planning.
The Sunset Theater is the latest in a series of shuttered East End cinemas that have been independently purchased or renovated to serve as cultural hubs for their communities — particularly in walkable villages like Southampton, Sag Harbor and Greenport.
Westhampton Beach resident Inge Debyser bought the theater, which originally opened in 1927, with a small group of investors in 2022 for $1.15 million.
"Small village movie theaters really attribute to the spirit, the heartbeat of a community," she said in an interview with Newsday. "A village cinema has personal ambience and warmth."
The theater is expected to have a positive economic impact on Westhampton Beach, said Kim Clark, the executive director of the Greater Westhampton Chamber of Commerce.
"The community is overwhelmingly happy to have a movie theater back," Clark said. "When patrons come to the theater, they will hopefully take a walk around our village and visit our restaurants. They'll come to the theater, have a bite to eat, stop by one of our galleries. It will bring another dimension to our village."
The theater, previously known as Hampton Arts I & II, has operated under several owners over the years. In 2014, the struggling theater launched a Kickstarter to help the business purchase two digital projectors, but raised just $30,726 of its $125,000 goal.
The venue eventually closed in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as did many other theaters across the country, and never reopened.
However, independent movie theaters have seen a resurgence since the pandemic, especially in small towns, said Bruce Nash, founder of the industry tracking firm The Numbers.
"There's been a rethinking of the model for these small theaters," Nash said. "There's [a focus on] 'how do we embed within the community?'"
The Sunset Theater will open with new release "The Legend of Ochi" on one of its screens and a mix of older movies like "ET" and "Pulp Fiction" on its second screen.
A mix of first-run movies and independent screenings can attract different groups to the cinema, according to Nash.
Similarly, the North Fork Arts Center in Greenport will screen box office hit "A Minecraft Movie" this weekend, as well as a selection of short films from the Museum of the Moving Image.
Much like other independent Long Island theaters that have undergone major renovations and been revived in recent years — including the Southampton Playhouse, Sag Harbor Cinema and the North Fork Arts Center — the Sunset Theater plans to launch a nonprofit arm, which Nash said is increasingly common for independent theaters.
"Theaters are often looking for support from their town or other nonprofits," Nash said.
Debyser said that she hopes to establish the nonprofit this fall and host educational and enrichment programs for the community.
"There are so many things we want to do," Debyser said. "We could do camps, classes on film writing and editing."
But for now, she said, the goal is to reopen as a year-round theater with a strong film line up. The theater plans to hire local staff and remain open seven days a week.
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