KAYSVILLE—There’s something irreplaceable about going to see a movie in the theater, isn’t there? Opening the doors and entering the lobby, smelling the popcorn and choosing the best seat in the house. Then the lights go down, the trailers start and as a group, moviegoers experience together the movie on the big screen.

That’s the way it has been for over 100 years, anyway and while technology has changed and advanced, the sense of community that comes from watching a movie in a theatre has remained the same for decades. That is, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and changed the face of movie-going forever. The story of the Kaysville theatre, however, begins a little before that.

Reading through their website, people quickly learn that show business has been in the blood of the Call family for generations. It only made sense, therefore, when Bill and Mary Call bought the Kaysville Theatre that they would pour their heart and soul into making it the best it could be. Together with their family, they remodeled and improved the theatre, adding a whole two more auditoriums and it’s been a Kaysville institution ever since.

“It’s been a family business the whole time,” said Lisa Call, Bill and Mary’s daughter-in-law and current owner of the theatre. “It’s fun! We’ve raised our kids here and our grandkids here as well.” Lisa, who took over from Bill and Mary, has been running the theatre for years now and went into a little detail about how the place is run.

Especially in a post-COVID climate, with Megaplex theaters dotting the state, it can be difficult. The Kaysville Theatre is a “sub-run” theatre, which means they charge less for a ticket, but generally wait longer for titles, passing the savings on to the audience, but their showings aren’t limited to new releases either.

Call explained that some of their most popular events include renting out an entire auditorium for private showings and their free summer matinees. Showing on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the summer, these free showings are always packed and available on a first-come, first-served basis as a service to the community. 

The Kaysville Theatre also offers both Halloween and Christmas classic movie showings in season and a handful of other programs to really help the community get back into the theater in the post-pandemic world. “We’ve had to adapt,” said Call, speaking about how many movie distributors are going to streaming faster since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

One of their more popular offerings, however, hasn’t traditionally been the movies, even before the pandemic. For years now, Kaysville residents have turned out in droves for, what Call says is “The best popcorn in the state of Utah,” and she may well be right! People will come just to buy the popcorn, Call said, with 20-30 large buckets being sold regularly to non-moviegoers. 

So what’s the secret to such good popcorn? “It’s a family secret,” said Call. While the exact details may remain a secret, she did reveal that it all starts with quality seed, quality oil and consistency. People have come to expect the quality popcorn the theatre produces and it keeps them coming back day after day, week after week, even during a pandemic. “We had people coming to the door asking, ‘Can you just pop one bag of popcorn?’” 

Call also expressed her gratitude to Kaysville, “We live in a great community that’s very supportive,” and when asked what more can be done, responded, “Don’t stream and come back to the theatre!” As one could imagine, the quick turnover from theatre to streaming has heavily impacted theatres like Kaysville.

The hope is, Call said, that people will support local and not just the theatre, but all local businesses. With great prices and the “best popcorn in the state,” the Kaysville Theatre is an easy choice for residents in the area for “hometown, family-oriented” entertainment.