The Mariemont Theatre is $20,000 away from reopening.

Cindependent, the Cincinnati nonprofit that signed a three-year lease on the 88-year-old Mariemont Square venue on March 20, has raised $980,000 of its $1 million restoration campaign and is accepting job applications for theatre staff, CEO Allyson West told Fox 19 on Tuesday, July 28.

"It's 20 grand; I think we can do it. … We are so close, I believe in us," West said.

The final 2% of the campaign is what stands between the nonprofit and hiring the workers needed to reopen. West said the theatre would open "soon" but declined to promise a specific date, saying staff must be hired first.

What's new inside

When Theatre Management Corporation vacated the building in February after an eviction by owner Spinnenweber Builders, Inc., crews hauled out projectors, popcorn makers, chairs and movie posters. Cindependent has spent five months replacing all of it.

The theatre now has five new projectors and a new speaker system. West called it one of the best sound and screening setups in the Tri-State. The nonprofit also plans to add a patio where it will serve drinks as part of what West described as a sustainable business model for the venue.

Ticket prices and programming

Under Cindependent's operation, general admission will rise from $10.25 to $12, and matinees from $7.75 to $8.50, according to the nonprofit's campaign page. The $5 Tuesday price stays the same. The theatre will show a mix of arthouse, independent, family and mainstream films and is now a registered ArtHouse Cinema through ArtHouse Convergence.

How the campaign got here

Cindependent originally targeted $515,000 but expanded the goal to $1 million after gaining access to the building on March 20 and discovering the full scope of needed restoration. Leaders from Mariemont, Columbia Township and Fairfax jointly donated $75,000 in late April, unlocking the equipment order. By July 1, the campaign had reached $902,000. West said at that time that if the campaign closed in July, staff could begin reopening the theatre in August.

Jack Hoffpauir, the theatre's operations director who has managed the cinema for four years, is overseeing the physical restoration.

The backstory

The theatre closed abruptly on Tuesday, February 24, when crews moved equipment into a truck outside the Mariemont square landmark, WCPO reported. Spinnenweber Builders had evicted Theatre Management Corporation at the end of January, giving the company until March 1 to leave. Mariemont Mayor Bill Brown said in February that "the thought of something like this going dark is unacceptable for most residents in this village."

Cindependent signed its lease less than a month later.

What's next

Residents who want to help close the $20,000 gap can donate at mariemonttheatre.org. Job seekers can apply through the same site. West has not announced a reopening date, but hiring is the last step before the theatre can welcome audiences back to the square.