PROVO — Nearly every week for the past two years, Julia Griffin and her friends piled into her Volkswagen hatchback, made a quick stop at 7-Eleven and drove a few blocks up to Central Square 4 to catch a movie.
Going to the discount theater was a weekly tradition — and she has ticket stubs in her diary to prove it.
The tradition ended last week when Central Square, at 175 N. 200 West, closed its doors forever, and "The End" will have a more significant meaning for moviegoers at two Salt Lake City cinemas Thursday. The screens will go dark for good as Carmike closes the Plaza 6 at 1904 W. 5400 South and Creekside 3 at 4890 S. Highland Drive after the final shows of the day.
Carmike's City Square 4 in Ogden and Riverdale 4 also closed last week. All moves followed the company's recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
"The theater operations had not met expectations, and it was in the best interest of the company to close those theaters," said Suzanne Brown, corporate spokesperson at Carmike's headquarters in Columbus, Ga.
Brown declined to release financial information about the five individual theaters. Telephone calls to Carmike's Salt Lake City offices were not returned.
Brown said the theater buildings were leased and will be returned to their landlords.
Central Square 4 and Ogden's City Square 4 were discount theaters. Creekside 3 and Riverdale 4 were first-run movie houses, while Plaza 6 played first-run films at discount prices, Brown said.
Carmike still operates theaters in Logan, Orem, Provo and West Jordan, in addition to others in Salt Lake City.
Brown declined to comment on possible future closures. "We are in the beginning stages of developing a business plan, so I cannot comment at this point," she said. "We are taking steps to reorganize and restructure the company."
She said Carmike has closed other theaters across the country but would not say how many.
Carmike Cinemas said earlier this month that it will be able to pay its debt for the next 12 to 24 months after creditors of the movie-theater operator delayed payments. The company said it would explore all its capital options.
In June, Moody's Investors Service cut Carmike's credit ratings, citing concern that it overextended when it borrowed to finance new theaters. The company said its performance has been hurt because it had to borrow money to finance state-of-the-art theater features, including digital surround sound and stadium seating, to replace older single-screen theaters.
Employees and managers at the local Carmike-owned theaters were told if they talked to the media about the closure in Provo last week they would be fired.
Carmike Cinema operated 459 theaters in 36 states as of Dec. 31, including 72 theaters in Utah.
The Wynnsong in Provo, a popular 12-screen theater owned by Carmike, will remain open, which is good news to most Utah County residents.
But not to Griffin, a Brigham Young University student who can barely make her car payment, let alone shell out $6.75 for a movie ticket.
"We're going to miss (Central Square)," said Griffin, surrounded by the friends she calls "The Movie Crew."
"It's not like it's the only theater, but we really liked it because it was so cheap and so close. It's sort of the end of an era."
E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com ; bwallace@desnews.com