For Alhambra Dinner Theatre fans and the city, the shows must go on.
That’s the goal of local businessman Craig Smith, who is working on a deal to acquire the iconic cultural institution from longtime owner Tod Booth. Smith said he hopes to have the deal finalized within the next couple weeks.
While owning the business would be a new venture for Smith, he is no stranger to the venue, having grown up attending numerous performances every year since he was a child.
“I grew up on the Westside,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been going since I was 12 ... when I was younger, making the trip always felt like the ‘big city.’ I loved it.”
Smith passed the experience on to his young daughter, Macy, when he took her to her first show when she was three years old and wanted to see “The Wizard of Oz” in 2002. It was an evening neither will forget.
“Tod (Booth) took her backstage to meet Dorothy and Toto,” said Smith, “and her eyes just lit up and she was all ‘oohs and ahs’. She just went crazy.”
He’s taken her to numerous shows since then until it closed in late August and the thought of its absence prompted him to take action once the Booths took him up on his longtime offer for assistance.
“I could not imagine it not being here for her the way it was for me,” he said. “The arts have such a place to expand our cultural horizons ... and going to a place like the Alhambra does that.”
Smith sold his former business, Beaches Limousine and Transportation, in 2006 and has the ability and time to undertake such a venture, he said.
Upon the deal’s completion, though, some things will change.
For years, Smith said he’s noticed certain aspects of the theater have seemed off track, which he believes led to people not returning for the experience he felt is one of the best in the city.
“When you go to a show like this, you want to walk away feeling special,” he explained. “I don’t think enough people felt that way as much ... when I ask people if they go to the Alhambra, I’ve heard people say ‘I used to go, but...’ I want to get rid of those ‘buts.’”
The venue will receive what he calls a cosmetic makeover, with everything from new carpets and utensils to linens, lights and even an exterior paint job.
“No more Pepto Bismol outside,” he said with a laugh.
The physical amenities aren’t the only things getting revamped, as the food is getting a new flavor with the addition of Smith’s longtime friend and Jacksonville chef Matthew Medure.
“I’m really excited about the project,” said Medure. “It’ll be a casual type of cuisine that’s fresh and well presented.”
Medure said the buffet-style cuisine Alhambra patrons associate with dinner theater won’t really change, as much will be based on his buffet-style take-out and sit-down restaurant, Take Away Gourmet, in San Marco.
Since it closed in late August and he began to look into acquiring it, the public support for the Alhambra reopening has poured in. Smith said thousands upon thousands of combined e-mails, phone calls and Facebook comments and acquaintances have reached out in support, which Smith hopes continues.
After the deal goes through and the facelift is complete, Smith said if the public sentiment and reaction translates to actual attendance, he wants to do some extensive long-term remodeling and expansion.
It’s not so much about a profit margin in the venture as it is just seeing it succeed and continue tradition.
“As long as it can pay for itself, it’s a home run,” he said.
Besides finalizing the transaction, Smith has his sights set on Nov. 7. That’s the date he refers to as a “homecoming event” for the venue called “Save the Alhambra,” which will include an outside show, food and other entertainment while acting as a kickoff event.
While he’s been in numerous business deals and ventures over the course of his career, the Alhambra deal is the one he admits to being most excited about – for himself, his daughter and the rest of Jacksonville who has experienced the shows or will in the near future.
“By far the most fun thing I’ve done,” he said.
For more information on Alhambra Dinner Theatre, go to
www.alhambradinnertheatre.com.
dchapman@baileypub.com
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