KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Halls Cinema 7 has closed its doors.
On Tuesday, the independent movie theater posted on Facebook that it was shut down, effective immediately. The business said revenue did not keep up with the cost of operation. Cherain Macias said she's been a customer at the theater for years.
"I thought it was really sad," said Macias. "Me and my kids came before, and I wanted to take care of my other granddaughter and have a date with her. And now, there's really nowhere to go or anything really to do around here."
She said she went to take some photos to remember it.
"I thought it would just be a good memory to come and get the pictures of it and be able to have that when we got older, to show the kids what it looked like," said Macias.
She said she came to Halls Cinema 7 last weekend with her granddaughter.
"Me and Brooklyn went out on a mamaw and granddaughter date," said Macias. "And we came here, saw Mean Girls, and it was a lot of fun. It's different than being at home. And we just really enjoyed coming."
Matt Hodgson, a Knoxville resident, said the movie theatre played a big part in his childhood. He said he visited the place often.
"I did, especially growing up," said Hodgson. "I remember being in daycare, and then taking us out here and getting popcorn and drinks and letting us watch a movie."
Hodgson said when he saw the news on Facebook, he was shocked.
"All the memories just came rushing back, just being in high school and working with peer tutoring and taking some of the kids out here to see a movie. That was really awesome," said Hodgson. "I know it was some of the kids' first movie they've ever been to. So yeah, we really enjoyed that. And my grandfather taking me to see Jurassic Park in 1993, that's probably the one that sticks out the most."
He said he even brought his girlfriend to see a movie at the theater that he grew up going to.
"My girlfriend is from Texas," said Hodgson. "And I brought her out here. We both had the day off, just by happen-chance and decided where to go and see Where the Crawdads Sing. So we came here to this movie theater, figure out show, you know, kind of where I grew up and some of the things we used to do."
Hodgson says he liked going to Halls Cinema 7 because it felt like home.
"Just has that small-town feel, you know?" said Hodgson. "And nostalgic. I feel like I could go in here and like said, you know, remember a lot of things we used to do and how, you know, friends and growing up and hanging out in this area. And it just felt like home, honestly."
Macias says she's not sure where she'll go to the movies now, since she lives in Maynardville.
"Go to Kentucky, I guess," said Macias. "Yeah, I don't know. Most people, I think, are streaming but it's not the same as get now."
On Monday around 1 p.m., WBIR reached out to a manager at Halls Cinema 7 who said she would put us in contact with the owners of the movie theater. At the time this was published, we still have not heard back.