Patio Theater set to reopen after repairs

by BRIAN NADIG

The Patio Theater, 6008 W. Irving Park Road, will re-open on Thursday, Dec. 4, with a holiday comedy show after being closed since last spring due to a broken air conditioning system.

The Kouvalis family which owns the Patio building, which also contains apartments and storefronts, is leasing the 87-year-old theater to Finest Management, which also operates the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave. Portage Theater owner Eddie Carranza, who lost his liquor license at the now-shuttered Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave., in 2013, reportedly is one of several prospective buyers for the Patio.

"As far as the Patio goes, its programming is going to movie-centric," Finest Management owner Charlie Burns said.

The Patio Theater’s digital projector is more up-to-date than the projection system at the Portage, where programming includes films, concerts and farmers’ markets, Burns said. A fund-raising drive was held to help pay for the new projection system at the Patio.

Repairs to the air conditioning system and to some of the seats in the balcony are planned, and inquiries will be made into possible lease arrangements that would allow the theater’s patrons to use parking lots in the area, Burns said. The 1,500-seat theater does not have its own parking lot.

The Patio has a small stage, and it may be extended, but any renovations would not alter the historic nature of the movie house, Burns said. The ceiling of the theater is covered with an atmospheric sky that the Kouvalis family restored about 25 years ago.

Information about upcoming events at the Patio is available at www.patiotheater.net.