By: Mary Beth Almond | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published February 7, 2024
BLOOMFILD TOWNSHIP — The Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township has permanently closed its doors.
Theater managers Jon and Lauren Goldstein announced the closure Feb. 5, thanking “everyone who bought a ticket, ate a meal, or worked a shift” in a statement on the theater’s website, themapletheater.com.
“Being able to operate a theater in our own community was one of the great privileges of our lives,” the Goldsteins said in a statement.
The Goldsteins, of Cloud Nine Theater Partners, also released a more detailed statement announcing the closure on social media.
“Our lease has expired, and after months of difficult deliberations, we have decided that it is time to end our run as operators of this wonderful institution,” the statement reads. “We have been honored to be stewards of the Maple Theater and appreciate all the support and patronage from the community for the past 12 years.”
The Maple opened in 1977 as the Maple 1-2-3, showing independent, art and foreign films.
The Goldsteins — who took over The Maple in 2012 — said the pandemic had “huge effects” on independent art house theaters.
“We are proud that we stayed open and continued to serve people during such a crazy time. We worked hard to try to return to pre-pandemic attendance. And while there were tangible glimmers of hope, we are unable to make the financial commitment necessary to keep The Maple a first-class establishment,” they said in a statement. “Anything less would tarnish what we worked so hard over these years to build. Like any good story, we don’t know how The Maple Theatre’s tale will end. We just know we have reached the end of our chapter.”
The closure follows the loss of Royal Oak’s Main Art Theatre in June 2021 and Cinema Detroit leaving its Midtown Detroit location in June 2023.
The statement said the theater has made an agreement with Emagine Entertainment to honor its Elite Memberships with a complimentary one-year Emagine Extras membership, noting that outstanding gift cards can be exchanged with an Emagine gift card at the Birmingham 8. Details are available at themapletheater.com.