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April 15, 2020

West Hartford Center theater furloughs 46 workers amid COVID-19 closure

Photo | Cinépolis USA A luxury Cinépolis theater.
By Joe Cooper

A luxury movie theater in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square is temporarily furloughing 46 employees due to a loss of business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a state labor filings shows.

Operator Cinépolis USA, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Mexican movie chain Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas, informed state labor officials last week it intends to gradually furlough its staff in West Hartford by the end of April.

The temporary furloughs at the South Main Street theater began on March 23, one week after Gov. Ned Lamont issued a sweeping measure as part of a regional approach to shutter movie theaters, gyms and dine-in services at restaurants and bars. Lamont recently extended closures of non-essential businesses through May 20.

All affected employees have been notified of the furloughs, and none are represented by a union, the company said in a letter to the state Department of Labor.

According to the letter, the theater is furloughing 14 servers, seven concessions staff, 15 cooks and food/beverages runners, two service managers and a supervisor, among others.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled the company’s business and businesses around the country… ,” Cinépolis said in the letter.

Cinépolis could not be reached for comment.

Cinépolis acquired the West Hartford theater, formerly known as Criterion Cinemas, in July 2016 in addition to three other theaters in New York and New Jersey. 

After completing a multimillion-dollar renovation, the revitalized 21,462-square-foot theater reopened about a year ago offering 359 reclining leather seats in six auditoriums. 

The venue showcases an upscale lobby equipped with gourmet concessions. 

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