Village 7 Theatres

Info Updates:

7/3/2010 - Unknown

Briarwood Dollar Movies shut down it''s doors on June 27, 2010. It will be replaced with an unknown tenant.

R.I.P Briarwood Movies
1973-2010

9/10/2005 - Ann Arbor News

Briarwoodtheater to reopen for bargain movies On-again, off-again site to become second-run house Friday, September 9, 2005 BY JENN MCKEE News Arts Writer The movie theater in the Briarwood Mall seems to have nine lives. Alan Teicher, of Ohio-based Teicher Theatres, recently decided to lease the Ann Arbor theater and rename it Dollar Movies at Briarwood. The reopening comes after the sudden, May 2005 closing of the theater known as the Village 7 - and the similarly jarring short run in that same space of the Madstone Theater, following years of vacancy. The movies are slated to begin rolling Sept. 23, a Friday. As the name suggests, the theater will offer second-run films - a format thats worked for Teicher before. "What we look for is very strong first-run theaters. That means the dollar houses will do well because thats a good movie town, Teicher said. Prices will be $1 until 6 p.m. and $1.50 afterward. On Tuesdays, all movies will be 50 cents. Teicher runs eight other theaters currently: four in Ohio, three in Indiana and one in Florida. "I have a mix of first run and second run - it just depends on the location of theater, said Teicher. "I cant go there (in Briarwood) first run because the other two theaters (Showcase and Quality 16) are stadium seating and that sort of thing. We cant compete against that type of competition. This is Teichers first theater foray in Michigan, but hes no stranger to the area, and this stands chief among the reasons for his interest in the Briarwood location. "Im from Detroit, number one, said Teicher. "I was raised and grew up there, and worked theaters in Detroit, and I want to get back. Teicher said the lack of another second-run theater also makes the area attractive. The same people who briefly ran the Briarwood theaters had a second-run theater in Maple Village shopping center. But they closed it after complaining of extremely high overhead costs. Rather than the seven screens previously at Briarwood, though, Dollar Movies will have four, because the new Pottery Barn store in the mall requires so much room that three theaters had to be converted into retail space. Teicher is nonetheless very pleased with the remaining space and has no immediate plans for major renovations. "The theater is just fantastic, said Teicher. "Its clean as a pin in there. We may go in there and just clean the carpet and stuff, just do a little bit of touching up, but basically, the theaters in very good shape. News Business Reporter Mike Ramsey contributed to this report.

5/11/2005 - Jeff

I believe the Village 7 has closed as of May 5th. All thier web site states is "We are closed. Sorry for the inconvenience."

3/17/2005 - Cactus Bob (Bobby Peacock)

I was just at Briarwood Mall last week -- seems that the theatres are re-opening as the Village 7.

6/6/2004 - Detroit Free Press

June 2, 2004 The Madstone Theater in Ann Arbor closed abruptly Tuesday afternoon; a spokeswoman for the theater chain said it was a business decision made because the movie house wasnt performing up to expectations. The theater in Briarwood Mall screened first-run movies but set itself apart from other theaters by showing independent and alternative films, as well as film series. The Madstone had 1,650 seats and seven screens. It opened in September 2002. The company closed two other theaters -- in Atlanta and Chandler, Ariz. -- Tuesday, reducing the number of Madstone Theaters from 10 to seven. "We have certain expectations for each of our theaters," said Erin Owens, manager of marketing and publicity for Madstone. "Ann Arbor just was not performing up to those expectations. It was strictly a business decision. "Weve kept some of these theaters open for a very long time even if we were not making money off of them," Owens said. "Its now come to a point where we can no longer afford to . . ." She added: "The movie business, its a very difficult business -- especially when youre an exhibitor. Theres a lot of competition out there to get first-run titles." Briarwood management learned of the closing Tuesday afternoon. It had no plans for the space, but did not anticipate trouble finding a new tenant. The Ann Arbor area is home to several movie theaters. In addition to films screened at the University of Michigan, the area has several first- and second-run theaters. It is also home to the Ann Arbor Film Festival.

6/6/2004 - Ann Arbor News

Briarwood location wasnt living up to expectations, owners say Wednesday, June 2, 2004 BY BRYCE G. HOFFMAN News Business Reporter The curtain has come down for the last time at Madstone Theaters. The Briarwood cinema, which offered an eclectic mix of art house, foreign and mainstream Hollywood motion pictures, closed Tuesday as part of a corporate restructuring plan, according to Erin Owens, manager of marketing and publicity at Madstone Theaters LLC in New York. She said the company is also closing two other theaters in Atlanta and the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Ariz. The announcement came as a surprise to Karl Kasischke, general manager of the local theater. "I found out today," Kasischke said Tuesday afternoon. "Its closing immediately." The recorded message at the theater still listed show times through Thursday as of Tuesday afternoon. The theater employed about 25 people, according to Kasischke. Owens would not comment on what compensation, if any, would be offered to those workers. "Were disappointed," said Ida Hendrix, general manager of Briarwood Mall, who also expressed surprise at Madstones decision. "Theyve been doing pretty good here. Their sales were up." But they were not up high enough, according to Owens. "We have certain expectations that we expect each theater to meet," she said. "Ann Arbor was just underperforming." Kasischke said the whole movie industry is suffering right now. "There havent been a lot of good films released," he said. Russ Collins, executive director of the nonprofit Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor, agreed that the industry is trending downward, but said Madstone may have been grappling with more challenges than most movie houses. He said Madstone had embarked on an ambitious business venture that involved making movies, distributing movies and showing movies at company-owned cinemas. Owens said the company now is concentrating solely on maintaining its remaining cinemas. The firm operates six other cinemas nationwide. Hendrix said Madstones departure will leave a big hole in the mall, but she said the shopping centers owners are already looking for ways to fill it. One option is to divide the cinema complex into smaller spaces, though Hendrix said that is unlikely. Madstone took over the space, formerly a United Artists cinema, in 2002. The theaters closing is likely to prompt questions from customers who bought into Madstones membership program. Owens said Madstone will offer some form of alternative compensation to those who took advantage of that offer, adding that members will be contacted by the end of the week with more details.

6/6/2004 - John Green

As of 200pm on 6/1/2004, Madstone closed their operations in the old UA theater. Briarwood Mall is currently looking for a new tenant. Ida Hendrix, general manager of the mall, stated that one option might be to gut the cinema and divide it into retail spaces, but that is "unlikely."

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