New Theater Sets Construction Date for 2018

News

According to recent release, the Georgia Theatre Company announced their intent to construct a theater near the Wal-Mart in East Ellijay.

This announcement comes as according to East Ellijay City Hall, they were nearing the end of an agreement to purchase the land. Moving forward with the contract, officials say they could see construction beginning before the end of the year. However, no official plans have been filed yet.

The Georgia Theatre Company offered the following through their social media.

“We are pleased to announce the coming of our newest movie theater – Mountain Cinemas in Ellijay, GA, which is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2018. Located on Highland Parkway near GA-515, across from the Walmart Supercenter, Mountain Cinemas will feature 8 luxury auditoriums, each with stadium seating, Christie digital projection, Dolby digital surround-sound, and electric, fully-reclining seats. The facility will offer a self-serve concession stand with expanded food options. Tickets may be purchased at the concession stand or at one of the electronic kiosks.”

Citizens taking to various media have been divided about the coming theater with some going as far as starting an online petition against the theater. Others welcome the new business as a sign of Gilmer’s growth as well as the North Georgia Region overall.

Much of those in opposition that FYN has spoken to relate their opposition to supporting the already established East Towne Cinemas. East Towne replied to the information by saying,

“We will continue to run as long as our little theater can support itself. We appreciate all of our loyal supporters and hope and pray we can continue to run our business for years to come.”

18 Comments

  1. Bill Ford April 12, 2017 at 7:59 am

    Big business continues to rule us. Hope and pray for continued success of East Town.

  2. Rae April 23, 2017 at 7:48 pm

    I hope they build the new one. East town is run down and needs remodeling. Most of the chairs are broken. Would love to have a bigger theater with more than two screens.

  3. Holly Davis May 16, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    I feel with the growth of Gilmer County going in an upward transition that perhaps both businesses will do well. East Towne Cinemas will have a large loyalty following but the new theater will attract more consumer revenue from surrounding counties. If Gilmer County is going to attract more business then this is one way to do it. The people that come in to go to the theater will most likely stay for dinner at one of our local restaurants and could indeed spread that extra revenue to many local shops. Customers are always looking for something different to do and see so it will be interesting how this will unfold.

  4. Cheryl levitt July 21, 2017 at 3:11 pm

    Don’t you all want the business to do better and others to have a chance to open one and not worry about making a it and making money to support there family’s

  5. Angela September 26, 2017 at 1:08 pm

    Please open soon !!! It was really bad when my son had to watch a movie by himself because the mold is so bad in the old theater that my throat was closing and I couldn’t breathe I had to sit in my truck for 2 hours till it was over .. it would be a blessing to have a new cinema so we don’t have to drive to canton or Blairsville any more and the town can use a few more jobs !!!

    • Donna February 10, 2018 at 10:46 am

      WHY would you leave your son in a place with mold?????????? FYI…contact the health department…don’t EVER sit in a room with mold (that it was so bad you had to leave – but left your son in there for TWO hours)

  6. Brenda December 13, 2017 at 10:25 am

    The old theatre is dirty and run down and they have done nothing to do any improvements to it. It doesn’t cost much to rent a shampooer and clean the carpets in the lobby which are filthy!! I am excited for this new theatre, it will be clean and comfortable.

  7. Catrina February 16, 2018 at 4:36 am

    I’m excited for the new theater. We need a golden corral while they are adding things. Hahaha. It will just be nice to have more options of movies. I love east towne cinemas and their staff, but the fact is Ellijay is growing and we need more options.

  8. John Smiley February 19, 2018 at 2:07 pm

    If the old theater is in as bad a shape as I understand, they don’t deserve to thrive. There have been several other businesses that have allowed themselves to be run down and have disappeared. It’s called survival of the fittest. In this case survival of the cleanest and healthiest.

    • Gary March 4, 2018 at 7:39 pm

      I agree on golden corral!

      • Cheryl levitt May 10, 2018 at 8:33 pm

        That’s what I want go golden coral

  9. Terry Frazier March 3, 2018 at 3:40 pm

    Looking forward to a new movie theater!
    Maybe we soon will get more stores to shop in too!

  10. KB April 4, 2018 at 12:18 pm

    I am excited for the newctheater. Target would be a welcomed addition also.

  11. Ted Smith April 13, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    When is it opening

  12. James Alexander April 16, 2018 at 8:10 pm

    We live in north Fannin County, and East Towne Cinema staff have been great. (We have often gone to Blairsville for some of our wants, as well.) However, over the last two years we have gone to Cleveland TN for movies and several shopping options located there. This new theater will bring us back to North Georgia for movies, and Ellijay has more variety of stores and restaurants than found in Fannin. So we welcome the new theater, and hope that going to East Towne Cinema will continue to be a reason to visit Ellijay businesses as well. I agree, it would be nice to have more of the national chain stores closer than the several miles away in Canton, GA and Cleveland, TN. Just a note, we do have some nice businesses in Fannin County, who we will continue to support.

  13. Yoder woody May 16, 2018 at 6:22 pm

    In all honesty the town theater had enough time to make its business better.

  14. Wayne Dedmon May 28, 2018 at 8:47 pm

    This new theater will bring jobs for teenagers that badly need work. This will save the drive to Canton and bring revenue to Gilmer Co.

  15. Earl Dinkler June 25, 2018 at 5:42 pm

    While I can sympathize with the owners of East Town Cinema; I do agree with one of the commentators. The two times I went to East Town the theatre condition was terrible. The place stank of mold, the floor was so dirty/sticky my shoes stuck to the floor plus I kicked several mostly empty cups & popcorn containers out of my way getting to my seat. The seats themselves were so worn out I sank a good 8 inches below where the cushion was supposed to be, on many seats the upholstery was cut/worn with stuffing coming out.
    I have not been back to East Town Cinema for 5 years. While Jasper and Canton Theaters were a 40 minute drive, It was worth the effort to see first run movies that hadn’t been released 2-3 months prior, like the movies at East Town.
    I have seen several small theaters across the U.S. that have survived & prospered with nearby multiple screen competition by specializing in certain movies (NOT XXX!!), and by offering great personalized customer service, and absolutely SPOTLESS conditions. East Town Cinema could compete in this way, but they would have a lot of work to do, and a lot of advertising & promoting their “NEW” theatre and its special movies. I wish them good luck!!

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