The operator of the movie theaters at The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk has filed for bankruptcy reorganization, another troubling sign for the mall, which has been struggling since it opened in 2008.
Cinema Fusion, an upscale theater that serves alcohol at some screenings, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The theater is run by Gardenwalk Cinemas LLC and is a venture of Newport Beach–based Sanborn Theatres Inc. and investors.
The filing covers Gardenwalk Cinemas and dosen’t include Sanborn Theatres.
The move comes about a month after Anaheim GardenWalk defaulted on its debt.
The mall’s developer, Excel Realty Holdings of San Diego, is in talks with a unit of Citigroup Inc. to rework the terms of its loan. The mall owners haven’t made a payment on more than $188 million in debt since September.
Gardenwalk Cinemas listed $1 million to $10 million in debt in its bankruptcy filing.
Most of its creditors are unsecured. Several of its debts are relatively small, which could signal the theater is struggling to meet day-to-day expenses.
Creditors include mall operator Anaheim GW II LLC (owed $2.5 million in rent) and Newport Beach law firm Stradling, Yucca, Carlson & Rauth (owed $425,000).
Sanborn Theatres got its start in the 1970s and owns six theaters in California, including in San Luis Obispo and Temecula.
The theater at the GardenWalk is its first upscale theater, which includes “21+ Screenings” that let movie watchers enjoy drinks in their seats with no kids allowed.
There are 14 screens at the theater, including three smaller screening rooms for parties and corporate events.
The smaller, reserved-seating screening rooms have soft music, no commercials and curtains that rise up to unveil the screen.
Owner Bruce Sanborn hoped to recreate a classic movie theater ambiance.
Cinema Fusion was Sanborn Theater’s re-entry into Orange County.
The company built Cinemapolis (now called Cinema City) in the 1980s in Anaheim Hills, when Sanborn Theaters was known as SoCal Cinemas.
His dad also was a partner at the Lido Theatre in Newport Beach for a couple of years. His grandfather, Arthur Sanborn, opened Hollywood Theater in 1918.
