Brenden Theatre Corp. is closing its 16-screen cinema next month after 22 years in the East Contra Costa city. It was the company's first theater. Brenden's lease with property owner Sierra Pacific Properties Inc. is up April 15.
The company has "a couple others things on the map" and is focused on building elsewhere, said Bruce Coleman, Brenden's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
"We had a good run there, but we're looking forward into our new expansion plan," Coleman said.
Other Brendens, including the one in Concord, are not closing, he said.
The Pittsburg theater, at the west end of Century Plaza near the Pittsburg/Antioch border, will not be empty for long, though. Maya Cinemas has agreed to lease the building and keep the show going.
"We're very excited to have a replacement theater moving in," said Doug Messner, Sierra Pacific president.
Maya Cinemas plans to renovate the theater inside and out once the Brenden closes, said Frank Haffar, company president and chief operating officer. The goal is to reopen by Memorial Day weekend or early June, he said.
"We don't just plan on giving it a paint job; we plan on a drastic retrofit that will give (patrons) a completely new experience," Haffar said.
Among the changes Haffar listed are new reclining seats, sound systems and a digital projection system with larger screens inside the theater. The outside will also get a new look.
Maya Cinemas has two theaters in Salinas and Bakersfield. Sierra Pacific liked Maya's vision for the theater, Haffar said.
According to the company's website: "Maya Cinemas intends to become the premier film exhibitor by building new megaplex theaters in areas with strong moviegoing demographics in Latino-centric, family-oriented communities in underserved urban and rural areas."
The Brenden Theater Corp. opened its first eight-screen theater in Pittsburg in spring 1990, making it the largest theater in the region. Tickets were $6.50 for adults at the time. It expanded to 12 screens two years later and was remodeled in 1997 to include 16 screens.
Other theater complexes have been built in East Contra Costa since the Pittsburg Brenden. Regal Cinemas opened a theater at Antioch's Deer Valley Plaza in 1999; AMC Theatres took over operations in 2010.
Rave Cinemas opened at The Streets of Brentwood in 2008.
Brenden Theatres are also located in Concord, Modesto, Vacaville, Las Vegas, Laughlin, Nev., Kingman, Ariz., and Rifle, Colo.
Contact Paul Burgarino at 925-779-7164. Follow him at Twitter.com/paulburgarino.