A quick word about the new owners of The Hi-Pointe Theater

STL's finest (and oldest) theater is in good hands.

Good movie theater popcorn isn’t as easy to find as one would think.

Every main theater chain has the standard over-salted mess that coats the entire bucket of corn in a state of constant heart-stopping shock. Having worked at a movie theater and sprinkled that BRIGHT orange powder onto countless batches, I can tell you it’s about as good for you as the bagged-up nacho cheese.

When a theater can offer something rich in flavor without the extra-extra sodium applied, it should be noted. When that particular theater finds new owners and they happen to be great people, a film addict can trust that the popcorn should stay the same.

The Hi-Pointe Theater, which includes an intimate backlot theater on the second floor of the storied building that sits off the southwest corner of Clayton and McCausland, was sold this week to the Cinema St. Louis (CSL). They are a nonprofit film company dedicated to showing International, American Independent, and Documentary films. They are the ones who put together the massive Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival every November.

Co-directors Bree Maniscalco and Chris Clark care more about cinema than most living souls in the Midwest, so the promise was immediate that the new owners were going to keep the good HP times going. That means you can still grab St. Louis’s best burger down the street before viewing the latest film at St. Louis’s finest (and oldest) theater.

It’s impossible to not be swept up when you walk in the front door. You buy tickets from outside the theater at one register, the same manner it’s been since the place opened 100 years ago. You walk into an old fashioned but still hip-to-the-modern touch lobby, and straight ahead lies the concession stand.

Local brewery favorites are sold, along with the trusted array of sweet treats and eclectic food choices. The popcorn is the official cologne of the theater. The smell hits the nostrils mere seconds after you enter. If you somehow choose not to get popcorn, you will only miss the first 5-10 minutes of the movie going back to get some once four people in your row are eating like time suddenly grew legs.

Going to the bathroom means a trip upstairs towards the Humphrey Bogart standee. Don’t bother with trying to look as cool as “Bogie,” but you come back down thinking about “Casablanca” and “Maltese Falcon.” There are few theaters that can give you a taste of the past while keeping an eye on the future of cinema.

The Hi-Pointe will get a crowd-friendly film or much-talked-about film, and the duo changes often to keep the audience fresh and ready to come back.

When theaters change hands, it’s easy to worry about the changes that could be coming that aren’t desirable. The Tivoli Theater was sold to a church group back in 2020, and hasn’t played movies in over a year. That won’t happen with the Hi-Pointe.

Thanks to Bree and Chris, and a truly game staff of movie theater lovers, the sophisticated escapism will continue over by Forest Park and the largest AMOCO sign you’ll ever see.

I’ll see you at the movies, friends.