On March 10, 2014, Monterey County Now (
visit link) reported the following story:
"BREAKING: Golden State Theatre sold to owners of Redwood City's Fox Theatre.
Sara Rubin Mar 10, 2014
Monterey's Golden State Theatre might be in for a golden era ahead.
That's what its new owners, Eric and Lori Lochtefeld, who also own the Fox Theatre in Redwood City, are aiming for.
The couple confirms they're in escrow on the Golden State, which has been on the market for about three years, with a recent asking price reduction of $1 million down to $3.9 million.
The Lochtefelds bought the Fox about three and a half years ago, and Eric describes a successful business model since then—and a moving community experience.
"I didn't realize what it meant to people," he says. "I had people come up to me on the street crying. They had their first date there, their first cigarette there, and you realize over time what a responsibility it is to the community."
He says after they successfully rehabbed the Fox, mayors from all over California started calling, asking them to come and rescue their own historic theaters that couldn't make ends meet.
They've looked at multiple theaters along the coast, carefully considering which one might be a good business venture.
"There's an old historic theater in almost every city in this country," Eric adds. "There were almost 20,000 at one point. There's not that many that have live entertainment capacity."
They've not yet gone public with their plans for Golden State, but he says it includes live entertainment—and definitely not a return to its former movie theater days.
"It's exciting," says Ryan Flegal, manager of the Golden State Theatre and real estate broker for owner Warren Dewey.
The city of Monterey has also been exploring acquiring the theater, by appointing a steering committee that hosted its first fundraiser in February. Since then, students at the Monterey Institute of International Studies began a business plan on how city ownership would pencil out. A nonprofit, Friends of the Golden State Theatre, was created on Feb. 28 under the auspices of the Monterey Opera."