 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kerasotes Theatres" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| Industry | Entertainment (movie theatres) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1909; 116 years ago (1909) |
| Defunct | 2024 (2024) |
| Successors | AMC Theatres |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois |
Key people | Gus Kerasotes, founder |
Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC was amovie theatre operator in the United States. Based inChicago, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC was the sixth-largest movie-theatre company inNorth America which had some 957 screens in 95 locations inCalifornia,Colorado,Illinois,Indiana,Iowa,Ohio,Minnesota,Missouri,New Jersey, andWisconsin at one point.[1]
The company was founded in 1909, when Gus Kerasotes, aGreek immigrant, opened a storefrontnickelodeon movie theatre inSpringfield, Illinois. He and his brother, Louis G. Kerasotes, operated the theater business together for over fifty years. His four sons,George, Louis, John, and Nicholas, joined him in the business and by the 1930s, the company had one theatre.[citation needed]
The chain undertook a major expansion program during the 1990s and 2000s adding several hundred screens to the circuit.[citation needed]
In January 2008, Kerasotes acquired AGT Enterprise's Star Cinema brand. The purchase included four theatres in Wisconsin and two in Iowa, which retained the Star Cinema name.[citation needed]
On November 20, 2009, Kerasotes opened the first theater in its newly-created premium theater brand, Showplace ICON, inMinnesota. It would soon be followed by a second location inChicago the following month.[citation needed]
On Tuesday, January 19, 2010, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, LLC announced that they signed a definitive agreement to sell most of the assets toAMC Entertainment, Inc., combining the nation's second and sixth largest movie theatre chains.[2][3]
On Tuesday, May 25, 2010, the $275 million sale between Kerasotes Theatres and AMC Entertainment, Inc. was completed.[4][5]
Kerasotes Showplace Theatres was then managed by the third generation of the founding family with Tony Kerasotes as chief executive officer and Dean Kerasotes as chief operating officer. It operated six theaters located in the Seaport District inBoston,Chicago'sSouth Loop, theMinneapolis suburb ofSt. Louis Park,Mountain View, California,Santa Clara, California atWestfield Valley Fair,[6] and in theHarmon Meadow development inSecaucus, New Jersey.[7] On June 21, 2024 ShowPlace ICON sold its Secaucus location toRegal Cinemas and its St. Louis Park location toMarcus Theatres. It then discontinued operations effective on June 30, 2024.[8]