3 movie theaters formerly run by Bow Tie Cinemas have new operators

Three Long Island theaters formerly run by Bow Tie Cinemas have changed operators this month, according to company executives.

Bow Tie Roslyn Cinemas at 20 Tower Place, Bow Tie Cinemas at 430 Plandome Rd. in Manhasset, and Bow Tie’s Squire Cinemas at 115 Middle Neck Rd. in Great Neck are now under new management.

The Roslyn and Manhasset properties, formerly owned and operated by Bow Tie, were purchased late last year by Gilman Management Corp., a Great Neck-based real estate investment and property management company.

Bow Tie ceased operations at those locations on Saturday, and a new operator has taken over the theaters, an executive with Gilman said, adding that the new operator's anticipated opening date is Friday.

The Gilman executive said the locations are “going to remain as movie theaters for the foreseeable future.”

Joseph Masher, chief operating officer for Ridgefield, Connecticut-based Bow Tie Cinemas, said in an email, “Our leases have ended at those theaters, and we no longer operate them.”

The Squire theater in Great Neck began screening films under a new operator on April 1. The new operators previously ran MovieWorld Cinemas in Douglaston, Queens, for 10 years until the family-run theater was forced to close in July when its former landlord announced plans to open a Lowe’s Home Improvement store at the site.

“We were looking for a new home for a while,” said Russell Levinson, operations manager for the Squire. He said he and his father began the search for a new location a few months before their last day in business in Queens.

“We were lucky enough to find this, which is about 3 miles from MovieWorld,” said Levinson, adding that the Squire will offer a mix of mainstream movies and independent films. “We’re actually seeing a lot of our old customers here.”

As part of his company’s move to the Island, Levinson said he and his partners plan to upgrade the seven-screen theater’s concession offerings, install new digital menus and replace its roughly 900 seats with between 300 and 400 luxury reclining seats after the summer.

Bow Tie Cinemas dates back to 1900. Before the screening of films became widespread, the entertainment company produced vaudeville shows. The company currently has two other Long Island locations — in New Hyde Park and Franklin Square — according to its website.

Bow Tie’s Port Washington theater closed unexpectedly in January last year.