TimesLeader.com

Vintage Theater keeps growing

By Don McGlynn dmcglynn@theabingtonjournal.com
Reporter/Photographer

SCRANTON—In less than a year, the Vintage Theater, in downtown Scranton, has experienced steady growth. This Friday, Nov. 6, its evolution continues with the opening of its cafe.

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From left, Conor O’Brien, Theresa O’Connor and Andrea Scahill, co-owners of the Vintage Theater in downtown Scranton.

Abington Journal Photo/Don McGlynn

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For more info on the Office Tour, visit www.officetally.com/the-office-fan-tours-scranton. For more information on the Vintage Theater or to reserve tickets for “Pride and Prejudice,” visit www.scrantonsvintagetheater.com or call 570.344.6344.

Founded by Conor and Barbara O’Brien in January 2009, the Vintage Theater opened at 222 Wyoming Ave. as a revival movie house. While the theater continues to showcase classic movies, Conor said the focus of the theater shifted shortly after opening.

“Over the course of a few months in the old space, we discovered that the more interest and the more enjoyment we got…was in music and live theater and art,” said Conor. “When we actually got performers, live performances, we seemed to get more of a response…so we primarily shifted to that and the theater grew and grew.”

As interest in the theater rose, so did a need for more space. A partnership between Conor and Clarks Summit residents Theresa O’Connor and Andrea Scahill of Scranton Rhythm helped relocate the Vintage Theater to a larger location at 119 Penn Ave. in September.

Still in college, O’Connor is finishing her degree with the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and Scahill is a student at The University of Scranton. This is the second business venture their newly-formed company, Scranton Rhythm, has taken on this year.

The two began “The Office Tours” this summer, the tour that highlights the sights of the city made popular by the NBC show “The Office,” which is set in Scranton.

“It’s been really exciting, and now we’ve been having 50 to 60 people every time we do a tour,” said Scahill. “Since the fall started, we’ve been doing the tours every second Saturday. We’re going to be taking a few months off in the winter and then we’ll be starting the tours again in the spring.”

As busy as the two were with school, the tours and their jobs, they still had ideas for another business venture that would allow them to help local artists and get more involved with the community.

“We wanted to basically do a music and art venue that could help the artists in the area, and we also wanted to incorporate it with the cafe,” said O’Connor

“A mutual friend knew Conor wanted to move into a bigger space, do a little more, so they introduced us and we merged and were both able to do more than we expected to do.”

The cafe will have a menu of deserts, dips and drinks, with all of the coffee provided by Brian Williams’ Grateful Roast. The three said Williams has been extremely helpful during this process and has even created a roast just for the theater—“Scranton Rhythm Roast.”

The three are hoping the cafe will turn the theater into a place that people will think of for more than just live entertainment.

“The cafe is really nice because, on its own, it’s going to be fabulous, but it really complements and adds to the theater aspect,” said Conor.

“The biggest problem that venues and even theaters (have)… is they’re very distant, the only time they come into play is when a production is going on… it doesn’t really make it a normal stop, or something that you would go to anyway regardless of what’s going on.”

Conor added he feels the cafe will help turn the theater into a daily stop, and in doing so will hopefully gain added exposure for the artists exhibited at the Vintage among an audience that might not normally visit Vintage. “What’s really great about Scranton, and its surrounding communities, is that there is so much talent,” said Scahill. “We want to reach out to everyone, absolutely everyone, especially focusing on the people in the early stages of their career. We want to give them opportunities they wouldn’t normally have. We want to.”

The cafe will officially open on Friday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m. and will then be open Monday through Friday, from 3 p.m. to midnight, tentatively. That night at 8 p.m., the theater will host the premiere of “Pride and Prejudice.”

The next “Office Tour” will be Saturday, Nov. 14, at noon. Cost is $25 for under 21 and $35 for over 21. The tour begins at the Vintage Theater.