B&B Theatres is located at the northwest corner of Conestoga Marketplace, just north of Best Buy, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND – B&B Theatres, a multiple-feature entertainment complex, will open May 1.
The building is located at the northwest corner of Conestoga Marketplace, just north of Best Buy.
The entertainment complex has seven theatres with a total of 380 heated recliner seats, a 10-lane bowling alley, a 7,000-square-foot arcade with 75 games, two outdoor pickleball courts, Sterling’s Restaurant and Bar, a “food-to-go” option, and two custom Coca Cola machines that allow consumers to make more than 100 drink options.
Drinks from the bar at Sterling’s Restaurant and Bar can be taken anywhere in the building.
The “food to go” option has made-to-order burgers, flatbread pizzas, fries, onion rings, hot dogs, and more for meals to be enjoyed in any of the seven auditoriums.
Jacob Mellor of Shawnee, Kan., is the director of Action Team and Corporate Training for B&B Theatres. He gave a tour of the theatre complex on April 25. Workers were busy putting the finishing touches on the interior of the building. He said that B&B Theatres has approximately 60 employees.
In the arcade, people can play “redemption games” where they win tokens that can be redeemed for prizes as large as a bicycle or kayak. He said that bowling leagues will be formed.
There are two small party rooms in the building.
The two outdoor pickleball courts will be completed once the weather is warm enough to apply the court lines and colored court areas. There is an outdoor area with artificial turf where people could play games such as cornhole.
The two largest theatres will hold 74 people each. People will notice that the screens are much brighter than in a traditional theater. Digital displays with information about movies line the hallway to the theatre entrances. There will be two 3-D theatres, Mellor said.
“The exciting thing about this complex is the fact that it is truly a balanced entertainment center, prioritizing the food and beverage and pickleball and arcade and bowling as completely as the cinema side,” said Paul Farnsworth, Executive Director of Communications and Content for B&B Theatres. Farnsworth said that the ribbon cutting ceremony for the business will be on April 28.
Brock Bagby is President of B&B Theatres and expressed his enthusiasm for the new venue. He said, “Our family-owned company is ecstatic to join the Grand Island community. This beautiful area aligns perfectly with our vision of providing exceptional entertainment experiences and, as a company founded and headquartered in the Midwest, this community feels like home.”
B&B Theatres has been family-owned and operated since 1924 when Elmer Bills Sr. opened a movie house in Salisbury, Mo., where the future Mrs. Bills played the piano for silent movies. During the company’s 100 years and four generations of family involvement, it has seen the coming of sound, color, Technicolor, stadium seating, multiplexes, recliners, and digital and laser cinema.
B&B Theatres is the fifth-largest theatre chain in North America and the largest privately held, operating over 550 screens at locations across 15 states.
