For cinema-lovers in Grahamstown who were wondering who killed the Roxbury in Pepper Grove Mall, all is not lost. The business did indeed close down, but it is to be re-opened today, according to the Pepper Grove Mall landlord.
For cinema-lovers in Grahamstown who were wondering who killed the Roxbury in Pepper Grove Mall, all is not lost. The business did indeed close down, but it is to be re-opened today, according to the Pepper Grove Mall landlord.
Some people wrote letters to Grocott's Mail saying they were disappointed that there had been no public notice alerting residents of the cinema's imminent closure.
Rob Beer, landlord of the shopping centre, explained that this happened because Roxbury's owner, Johnny Kluivers, was very ill and didn't have time to make a public announcement before his medical treatment began.
"He informed me that the business had deteriorated over the past 18 months, and he maintained that his demise was due to piracy," said Beer. Kluivers, said Beer, believed that due to the availability of pirated movies on the internet and the university network, the cinema's flow of customers had almost dried up.
Kluivers was given the option to try and find a new owner to take over the business, but when he didn't find the right offer it was closed down. Soon after the movie house stopped operating on the last day of October, however, a man from Johannesburg, who owns a few cinemas around the country, asked to take over the Roxbury.
"Let's hope he makes a go of it," Beer said. "It would be sad if Grahamstown loses its movie house, and it would be nice if people could support it," he said. Only two cinemas remain at Roxbury, after the third one was converted into a Pep store.
