During economic downturns, people often want to escape to the movies, and ticket sales are up at the big chains. But many small art-house theaters - including The Drexel in Bexley - are struggling to stay afloat.
The Drexel Theater has been an anchor in the heart of downtown Bexley since 1937, decades before the existence of multiplex cinemas. Jeff Frank acquired the theater in 1981. The theater is known for showing mostly documentary, independent, and foreign films. But Frank says he no longer has a corner on that market.
"A lot of the chain theaters have now decided that they also want to show art films and have art film screens that they dedicate sometimes - they don't do it all the time - and that certainly has an effect on our business," says Frank.
This diversification on the part of the larger chains, in addition to a recent shortage of good independent films, means hard times for the Drexel. And Frank is reaching out to the Bexley's Mayor, John Brennan, and other community leaders for help.
Brennan acknowledges the cultural importance of the theater, but says he will not spend city dollars to help the Drexel. "Our problem with giving [money] would be, of course, we can't expend city dollars. Then who's to say then we shouldn't help the restaurant down the street or the Gateway or the ice cream place or whoever else."
Instead, he and others suggest it may be necessary for the Theater to convert itself into a non-profit organization. Mayor Brennan says that kind of change may be required to keep the business viable.
"Then you could create a ten or twelve 'Friends of the Drexel' committee and get a tax person on there and get a financial advisor on there and people who could just, sort of, show how to better spend the money that's being brought in," says Brennan.
Frank will not commit to changing his small business of almost thirty years into a non-profit. But he says that more and more art theaters are making the switch just to stay in business.
"And this is just a new trend for art theaters around the country either transitioning to non-profit or starting as a non-profit and it's something that we have under consideration and we're still deciding what will work best for this theater," says Frank.
Sadie Taylor, WOSU News.