Crossings Cinema to open again

Once again, the intoxicating scent of popcorn will make itself known at the Crossings Shopping Center near Hopewell.

The Crossings Cinema, closed for six months, is reopening under new management tomorrow. The new co-owners of the two-auditorium theater are Ben Sanderson and Patricia Daves.

"I used to love going to the cinema and talking about movies," said Sanderson, a former assistant editor at the Hopewell News.

He would spend time chatting about film with previous co-owner Jim Frashure.

After running the theater for eight years, Frashure and co-owner Roy Tompkins decided to close it last October.

"When I found out they weren't doing it anymore, I decided to take it back up and keep it going," Sanderson said.

Although the economy is faltering, Sanderson said the movies have not taken as big a hit as other businesses. And although Hopewell's unemployment rate has risen, the city has not been as affected by the downturn as other communities because of what he considers his ace in the hole: Fort Lee, which is near the theater.

"We've got 12,000-14,000 troops moving there. Fort Lee is really expanding in the next few years," he said.

The theater will show first-run movies, particularly those that can be enjoyed by a family. The pictures that will open the theater tomorrow, "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Race to Witch Mountain" are rated PG.

The theater's concession stand will sell the usual items: popcorn, candy, nachos, pretzels and soft drinks -- "We're one of the only [theaters] that sells Pepsi. I'm an avid Pepsi drinker, love it to death."

Admission to the theater will be $7 for adults for evening shows, $5 for matinees, children, seniors and members of the military. The price is about $2 less than other area first-run theaters.

"We're still cheaper than the general competition around here," Sanderson said. "It's the same movies, but a cheaper price."