BLACKSBURG, Va. – Frank Theatres CineBowl & Grille made a payment on the first of the month but thousands of dollars in unpaid rent still needs to be addressed, according to Blacksburg APF Partners, which owns the property.
Monday's payment comes after last week's abrupt closing Tuesday, a court ordered emergency injunction Thursday and subsequent reopening Friday.
Property owners locked the doors and posted a notice on the glass. Blacksburg APF Partners later said the theater owed $450,000 in unpaid rent.
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The group confirmed to WSLS 10 Monday it received a payment for May, but all back payments have not yet been received.
"We can acknowledge that on Monday, May 1st, we received funds delivered on behalf of the tenant applied to the significant arrearages that the account has reflected for many months. This payment brings the tenant balance due to $492,500.01, not including other charges and costs," said Nate Kiser, president of Chrysolite Management Group LLC, which manages First & Main.
"We look forward to continuing to hear about this situation from all interested parties in the coming days," said Kiser.
Montgomery County Judge Marc Long granted an emergency injunction last week and required the theater to pay and $80,000 bond in order to regain access to the property. The payment was made the next day. Â
Attorney Jeff Mitchell, who represents Blacksburg APF Partners, said the two sides had more productive conversations in the last 48 hours following the lock-out than they had in the last 48 months.
In a text following Friday's payment and reopening, Frank Theatres CEO Bruce Frank told WSLS 10, "We are open for business and look forward to working with the Landlord. We are hopeful they are able to complete leasing the rest of the center. We are proud of CINEBOWL and Imax and looking forward to opening Guardians of the Galaxy next Thursday!" he wrote.
Frank did not address the allegations of unpaid rent but when pressed about the debt and whether he planned to get current, Frank responded, "yes."
It was revealed in court Thursday, that the CineBowl & Grille generated $500,000 to $900,000 in monthly revenue, depending on the month.
Mitchell said the group would love nothing more than for its tenant to pay its rent, get caught up and maintain its current status. But we want to see them perform first.
Cinergy Entertainment, the company announced to take over management of the CineBowl & Grille Wednesday, is still interested, Mitchell said, if Frank Theatres doesn't meet its obligations.   Â
"We think First & Main has found a great new operator if the current tenant cannot fulfill its obligations in a timely manner. We're ready for plan B," he said.