Less than a month after closing the 97-year-old Esquire Theatre, California-based exhibitor Landmark Theatres said it will shut down south Denver’s Chez Artiste as well.
Located at 4150 E. Amherst Ave. in the University Hills neighborhood, the arthouse theater with a trio of modest screens has, for decades, cultivated a crowd that attends nearly every premiere, party and — in the past — celebrity visits during the Denver Film Festival.
Chez Artiste’s final day will be Thursday, Aug. 8, according to a notice on the front door. “It has been our pleasure to serve you!” the sign said, and listed Landmark’s two remaining theaters in the metro area: Denver’s Mayan Theatre and The Landmark Greenwood Village.
Landmark marketing and brand chief Mark Mulcahy told The Denver Post by email that the closure comes in the wake of the company’s regular market evaluations, as well as its individual theater performance.
“We’ve made the decision to close the Chez Artiste location but look forward to servicing our Chez Artiste guests and broader Denver audience at our local Greenwood Village location or The Mayan in downtown Denver,” he wrote. “Our goal is to move some of the specialized content Chez Artiste played to the Greenwood Village [location].”
Despite its small capacity, Chez Artiste boasted things its competitors didn’t: a rotating selection of TCM-era classics from the 1930s-’70s and its status as a cultural destination that was not dependent on its neighborhood or spare, concrete surroundings. Originally opened in 1972, the Chez Artiste has been operated by Landmark since 1992. It was renovated in 2012 to add digital projectors and sound, new seating, wider rows and various design touches.
Fans of the Chez Artiste will throw a party for the theater and its staff on Aug. 8 at the theater, according to people interviewed for this story.
One of the theater’s fans, Stan Ward, wrote a letter to Landmark, criticizing the company for the way it has handled the closure. “The management staff there has provided the best movie-going experience in Denver for 15+ years,” Ward wrote in a note that he shared with The Denver Post. “I believe the Esquire theater was given several months notice of their closing. To give Chez one week’s notice after their long, exemplary service is, in my opinion, almost criminal. The staff there have earned the right to be treated far better than a one week’s notice.”
Mulcahy responded by saying that “key longtime staff” were asked to consider a move to Landmark’s Greenwood Village location. He also talked about the industry as a whole.
“We flourish when large numbers of people patronize the theatre weekly, daily, monthly, purchasing food & beverages,” he added in the response. “We would not close a theatre that is flourishing. We must make tough decisions when a theatre constantly loses money.”
Other supporters posting on Instagram, Facebook and X have suggested that Landmark wait until the end of the calendar year to shutter Chez Artiste.
Landmark, which has been an exhibitor for 50 years, previously shut down Denver’s historic Esquire Theater on July 17. The company had stopped paying rent in April 2020, according to commercial real estate firm Unique Properties — which then tried to sell the building for $3.3 million. It has since been purchased and will be redeveloped for mixed-use tenants.
