Golden Ticket thrilled to have Harrison location

Harrison has a local movie theater open again and Golden Ticket Cinemas Harrison 8 is proud to be the new owner.

“We’ve had our eye on this theater for two years, and we were very excited to be able to purchase it,” John Bloemeke, president, CEO and founder said.

The Harrison Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony with Golden Ticket Cinema on Friday, May 14 —  the first night they were officially opened to show movies.

Guests will enjoy four newly remodeled theaters with very comfortable recliners for seating.

Bloemeke said the other four theaters will be completed hopefully by the fall.

Movie goers will not have to rush to the theater to get the seat they want. The new system allows guests to reserve their seat and movie ticket from the app. The sound system has also been upgraded.

The former set up had about 100 chairs in each theater. With the larger, more comfortable recliners, they only have about 50 seats per theater. “But this helps with social distancing too,” he said.

Bloemeke said he has very fond memories of going to the movies as a kid and he looks forward to bringing that same experience to this area.

“The Chamber has been so helpful and hands on. We are very appreciative,” he said. “This is our 11th location to open and this Chamber has been the best of all of them.”

Bob Largent, Chamber president/CEO said, “Thank you, and we appreciate your vision and investment in Harrison.”

With summer here, they will expand the hours and movies being shown. There is also a special $1 movie kid’s movie with all ages welcome during the mornings two days a week —  Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. “We will reach out to day camps and daycare facilities to let them know. But anyone is welcome. During the kid’s movie morning, for $5 you can get a kids drink, popcorn and a movie.”

“There are some big movies coming this summer and we are so excited. Having a theater without new movies coming out is like operating a restaurant without any food,” Bloemeke said.

Tuesday night has special discounted prices on popcorn, drinks and a movie.

Operations director, Joseph Horton said, “We’ve already expanded our food to include pizza and milkshakes, and we plan to add more when we get the new Rewind Arcade area open. We will be offering chicken wings, cheese curds, and more like pub fare food. It will be a space where people can come, hang out and play classic arcade games. We hope people will just come and hang out in that space, even if they aren't coming to see a movie.”

Golden Ticket Theater is located in the North Hills Shopping Center at 617 Highway 62 65 North.