Scott Swanson
The thought of running the Rio movie theater is not new for Tom and Erika Baham.
But it didn’t reach fruition until last week, when the Bahams assumed ownership of the nearly 65-year-old theater, which they’ve purchased from Mike Kinney.
“Thomas has been throwing this idea around for years,” said Erika last week, as she stood in the theater lobby amid controlled chaos, teenagers scurrying by with armfuls of candy and drink cups.
The Bahams actually first considered buying the theater about a dozen years ago when it came up for sale.
“We looked into it before Mike bought it, and then we looked into it again about five years ago,” she said. “It just wasn’t the right time for us.”
She said her husband and Kinney crossed paths a few months ago and had a chat about Kinney’s attempts to sell it. With several teenaged family members available to help operate the place, things were different now.
“Tom felt like we were in a different stage of life,” Erika said.
Over the past few years the Rio has experienced a number of challenges to stay open, the first being a mandatory switch to a digital projection system that became necessary when, in 2013, studios stopped creating film versions of their movies.
Some 30 local residents stepped up with approximately $6,000 in donations which, together with a $1 increase in ticket prices, helped Kinney come up with the financing for the $40,000 projector.
Then a few months later, the pre-Christmas freeze of December 2013 left the Rio building with extensive water damage from broken pipes, which kept the theater closed for more than a month.
That led to repairs – new soft drink and popcorn machines, new lighting, toilets, sinks and flooring, and remodeling of the upstairs and bringing the wiring up to code in the building, which was built in 1950.
Thomas, who also works as a computer consultant, said he ran the numbers to determine whether the theater could be run profitably and lined up some financing to make it happen.
“Once we agreed on a price, it worked out good,” Tom said.
The Bahams moved to Sweet Home 16½ years ago from Southern California and have been active in a variety of areas in the community – Tom coached junior high soccer this fall and Erika is active in the AWANA program at Community Chapel.
Their three boys, TJ, 17, Christian, 15 and Andrew, 12, and daughter Meagan have been home-schooled and are active in sports in Sweet Home schools. TJ has started attending Linn-Benton Community College under the Sweet Home ACT post-high school college program.
Plus, the Bahams’ nieces, Samantha and Sierra, recently moved to the area and, with the boys, will help out at the theater, Erika said.
“Our kids all know how to work,” she said. “They’re pretty efficient.”
Tom said the first order of business upon taking over at the Rio was to upgrade the sound system, which they did the day after the deal was done.
“Tom is really into quality sound,” Erika said.
That was just in time for the premier of “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” which opened last week and will stay in the theater for another few weeks.
Next on the agenda, they said, is to upgrade the seating and put in new curtains.
They said they plan to continue the PG-rated fare on the screen.
“We would like to keep it family-friendly,” Erika said. “If kids can’t come, we won’t be able to stay open.”
They’re also looking into their options in regard to offering double features, which the studios regulate strictly.
Also, “We’re going to look into healthier snacks,” she said.
The Bahams said they want to preserve the Rio’s historic essence while modernizing where needed.
“We want to mix the old and new,” Erika said. “We want to keep the retro look but fix things up. We’re hoping our improvements will fall in line with that.”
“We are going to have fun,” Tom said.
“We’re hoping to do something good with it, God willing,” said Erika.