Stafford Cinema closes less than a year after being saved
Stafford Cinema has closed less than a year after being taken over by a new company in a rescue deal.
The historic venue closed on February 28, just 10 months after it saved by AJH Cinema.
The three-screen cinema, in Newport Road, was left with an uncertain future when it closed at the end of 2017 and at the time the new owners knew they were competing with a new Odeon Luxe complex being built just yards away in Bridge Street as part of the new Riverside development.
Now the staff have posted on Facebook announcing the closure saying: "The Stafford Cinema is closing down. We here at the cinema would like to thank every customer that has ever visited the cinema, whether you visited once a week, once a month, or just the once. We could not have made it this far without your support.
"We're sad to be going but thankful for the time we spent working at the cinema and seeing so many of you walk through our doors. Thank you all.
"From all the staff at Stafford Cinema."
The news comes after the £6.5 million Odeon Luxe opened in the town in November.
The cinema - originally planned to include 800 seats - has a state-of-the-art iSense screen which, measuring 15m x 6.2m, is taller than a double-decker bus.
The Stafford Cinema dates back to the 1930s and has 800 seats.
