CinemaSalem Won't Reopen When Coronavirus Crisis Ends

SALEM, MA —CinemaSalem, which has been closed since mid-march as a result of the coronavirus crisis, will not reopen.

"We have been working hard over the past six months to recruit new operators for the theater, and we succeeded in finding two well-qualified parties with creative business plans and community-oriented visions," owner Paul Van Ness said in a Facebook post. "But once the pandemic hit, neither believed they could find a way to make the numbers add up to a sustainable business."

Last year Van Ness warned he would close CinemaSalem if he could not find a buyer to take over. Van Ness said his Beverly-based film production company has gotten busier, and he no longer has the time to commit to CinemaSalem.

Van Ness opened the theater on June 2, 2006 with a free screening of the Wizrd of Oz.