Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020, many businesses like Marcus Theaters have faced hardships and are still recovering.

When the pandemic began, many businesses around the world had to close and Marcus Theaters was not an exception. After being shut-down for a while, the theater has recently reopened and is now serving its customers at full capacity.

However, the business is still struggling. The overall attendance has dropped by around 40 percent compared to pre-COVID times. Theater operations manager Danielle Kruger explained how the business was handled during the pandemic.

“We sat at 50 percent capacity, we closed certain soda stations down and water fountains,” Kruger said. “We did our best to kind of minimize our points of contact with people and that has kind of evolved over time into some different things.”

To make customers feel safe and protected, Marcus Theaters makes sure COVID protocols are being followed properly. Since the reopening, many precautions that ensure the safety of employees and customers were adopted. The theater also started “Vaccinated Only” showings for those who feel safe and prefer to be around vaccinated people.

“We’re really kind of trying to encourage our guests to do a lot of their purchasing online in advance of being here,” Kruger said. “We do also offer vaccinated only shows for folks that still have concerns about being in large groups of people.”

Customers are the ones who enjoy being back in person and at full capacity the most. Daniela Escala, a customer at Marcus Theaters, shared her feelings.

“Super happy to be back here because I really enjoy coming to the movies. Being here feels like everything is going back to normal little by little,” Escala said.