Goodrich Quality Theaters history

Previously, the Savoy Theatre had been a vaudeville theater; Goodrich renovated it as a single-screen movie theater and opened it in 1931 with "All Quiet on the Western Front". Business at the theater prospered, largely due to Goodrich's cheap double features.

Future Grand Ole Opry star Roy Acuff, the Knoxville fiddler who later played a major role in making Nashville “Music City,” gave his first-ever performance at the Tennessee in 1932.

“Kid Galahad” starring Bette Davis and Edward G. Robinson at the Tennessee Theatre in 1937.

Even Glenn Miller’s often-mentioned national broadcast at the Tennessee in 1940 was before a regular showing of a feature film.

The Savoy was later converted into a two-screen theater and finally shut down in 1979.

Frank Capra, director of the holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, came to the Tennessee in December 1980, and, two nights in a row, answered Knoxvillians’ questions about his career and the movie industry.

Robert Goodrich, owner and CEO of Goodrich Quality Theatres, Inc., announced that construction was to begin soon on the company’s new 10-screen theater complex at a press conference and groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, 30 April 1990.

Bill McMannis, Goodrich Quality Theaters vice president and general manager, said the expansion is also a sign that business has remained strong despite the Beverly Cinemas opening in late 1995.

Phoenix Theatres Entertainment LLC, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, got its start in 2001 following several theater-chain bankruptcies.

The Savoy 16 as it appeared 9 February 2008.

An article in the 25 January 2012 edition of The News-Gazette announced that Goodrich Quality Theatres, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was considering a renovation of its Savoy 16 complex.

Goodrich Quality Theatres debuted its new IMAX theater at the Savoy 16 on 3 May 2013, with “Iron Man 3: An IMAX 3-D Experience.” The IMAX auditorium has a seating capacity of 500 people.

In 2015, the Tennessee Theatre Foundation, the nonprofit responsible for keeping the old theater going, published the large illustrated book, The Tennessee Theatre: A Grand Entertainment Palace, written by Jack Neely and designed by Robin Easter and Whitney Hayden.

West Columbia 7 was among the locations to receive significant renovations in recent years, with $1.5 million invested in 2017 towards new recliner seating, an updated sound system and an expanded concessions area.

The Savoy Village Trustees had rejected a request from Goodrich Quality Theatres in 2019 with just two votes in favor.

In February 2020, Goodrich Quality Theaters declared bankruptcy and in July 2020 it was sold off to a few different companies with Mason Asset Management and Mark McSparin getting the bulk number of theaters (22).