The future of the theater

The movie theater building at 699 Uinta Drive has stood silent since the Star Twin Cinema closed its doors on August 10, 2023, but the building has new prospects for the future.

At Tuesday night's Green River City Council meeting, the council had a public hearing for a new retail liquor license application from Full Circle Realty, LLC regarding the theater building. Later in the meeting, the council voted to approve the liquor license. 

Amy Surdam spoke to the City Council on behalf of Full Circle Realty, LLC. The Cheyenne-based company recently purchased the movie theater building. 

"My husband and I are community-minded partners of the communities in which we serve and develop properties in, throughout Wyoming, and we strongly believe that there is nothing worse for a community than a vacant building," Surdam said. 

The company has a proven track record in Cheyenne, Laramie, and Jackson Hole, according to Surdam. In other communities and with other properties, Full Circle has sought a liquor license as a company to go with their properties. This way even if tenants change, the liquor license stays with the building, which makes it a more attractive property. 

"We think that this would be a very good model for this building since it's such a large space," Surdam said of the theater building. "Our goal is to keep the building as one with one tenant for the building rather than to separate it. Our overarching goal is that we will have the building occupied by a viable tenant that will be a positive, contributing member of the community."

Surdam said they already have a prospective tenant for the theater and have a letter of intent from them. Since a sensitive real estate transaction is still in the works, Surdam said they want to keep the prospective tenant confidential for now. She added that having a liquor license is part of this prospective tenant's requirements to occupy the building. 

Surdam also acknowledged that there has been some uncertainty about the building, but said they take pride in their properties and want to be good partners and make the property and project successful. 

"Ideally it will be an entertainment venue of some sort for the community in the future," Surdam said. 

Councilmember Sherry Bushman asked if the entertainment business model for the building would include entertainment for families. 

"At this time it's adult-only entertainment," Surdam answered. 

Councilmember Robert Berg asked City Clerk Chris Meats to clarify the type of liquor license being applied for. Meats replied that it is a full retail liquor license, and is the last one the city has left. 

"So this is the one that was being kept, in a sense, for a grocery store hoping to come?" Berg asked. 

"This is the one that has been designated for the last 20 years for a grocery store if one chose to come in," Meats confirmed. 

Legislation to allow local entities to determine the amount of liquor licenses given out was brought forward last year, but "significantly shot down very quickly," Meats added. He pointed out that he believes it is unlikely there will be any changes to that legislation this year, so the city will remain with the same number of liquor licenses. 

Berg questioned if a liquor license could become available again if another entity in town were to close down. Meats replied that yes, that is possible, but only if and when the liquor license is not renewed, which only happens on a yearly basis in March. 

Councilmember George Jost asked Surdam if there is a prospective time frame for the development of the building. Surdam replied that the next step, after getting a liquor license, would be to negotiate the lease with the tenant, after which there would be a clearer idea of a timeframe. She added that she didn't think the tenant would want to "sit on it" for very long and she thinks they would want to make progress soon. 

Councilmember Gary Killpack questioned how much the City Council has control or say over what type of business could go into the building. Meats replied that the council always has limited control over what businesses go into locations as long as they are not outside of the zoning regulations for the property. Killpack also questioned whether a full liquor license would be needed if the plan were for a restaurant to go into the facility. Meats pointed out that restaurants only need a full retail license if they plan to operate a full bar, and added that there are other types of liquor licenses specifically for restaurants and bar and grill facilities. 

The council voted unanimously to approve the liquor license for Full Circle Realty. Councilmember Ron Williams was absent from the meeting due to illness.