Claremont's Movie Theater and Walter's Are Reopening in Stages. Here's When Each Is Fully Back.

Two Claremont landmarks have been dark for a long time. Walter's has been closed since the August 2024 fire, and the movie theater on Second Street went dark in January. Both are coming back this month, and both chose to come back gradually. Regency Theatres opened its Director's Cut Claremont on Friday, October 2, with almost no promotion. Walter's has posted a three-week schedule that adds dinner, happy hour and late night one step at a time. Regency planned its wider opening for the week after the soft launch. Walter's doesn't have every service running until the week of October 26, so that's the first week you can get the full version of both.

The Theater Opened Quietly on Purpose

You may have walked past 450 W. Second St. this weekend without noticing that it had reopened. Regency kept it low-key on purpose.

"We want to get our staff trained and bugs out before we do a big push. So we're just not heavily promoting the theater opening. We're just getting it open. And by the following week we'll do a bigger push on it." Lyndon Golin, president of Regency Theatres, speaking to the Claremont Courier

The opening-night films were "Digger," "Verity," "Primetime," "Heart of the Beast" and "The History of Concrete." The Courier reported that a wider opening and a community open house would follow the week after the soft launch. No date had been announced when the paper went to press on September 29. Showtimes and tickets are on Regency's Director's Cut Claremont page.

The Director's Cut name tells you what kind of movies to expect. Golin described the lineup as part big commercial releases and part specialty and arthouse films, the same model as Regency's Director's Cut in Laguna Niguel. Fans of the old Laemmle should find that mix familiar.

Fewer Seats, and a Cheaper Way In

Inside, almost everything is new. Golin said Regency touched "every surface." Every seat is now a recliner, and the bigger chairs meant cutting seating capacity "a lot." Regency also replaced the screens to get brighter pictures and reworked the sound. Golin calls the result a "nice little boutique theater."

The smaller house comes with a published discount schedule:

Fewer seats means any given showing can fill up faster than it used to. An $8 Tuesday is the easiest way to see the new room before the open house brings bigger crowds.

Why It Took Six Years to Get Here

The soft opening makes more sense once you know the building's recent history. Laemmle opened the five-screen theater in 2007 as part of the Village West expansion. By 2020 the 18,743-square-foot building was on the market.

Over the next five years, several deals fell through:

1. In late 2021, the Courier reported that the proposed buyer was Win Fund Investment LLC, a Rancho Cucamonga company. Its plans called for an organic market, restaurants and a rooftop bar in place of the screens.
2. In January 2023, Laemmle told the Courier that escrow had been canceled after Win Fund couldn't complete the purchase, even with an escrow extended to more than a year. The theater kept running.
3. In December 2024, an auction didn't reach its reserve of about $4 million.
4. In November 2025, escrow finally closed with a theater operator as the buyer. A few days later, the Courier named that buyer as Regency Theatres and reported it would take over in late January.

The Courier tied the long sale effort to forces bigger than one building: soft local attendance, competition from the newer AMC in Montclair, and the growth of streaming. Laemmle's last screenings came at the end of January 2026. The Daily Bulletin reported the final shows on Thursday, January 29, and The Student Life gave the closing date as January 28. At that point, Regency was aiming to reopen in May. The actual opening came five months later.

Golin was open about the risk. He said it is "always a gamble," and that what convinced Regency was how strongly the community showed up for the theater during the earlier sale attempts. He wouldn't say how much the company spent beyond calling it "substantial." Claremont is one of 15 Regency locations, and a 16th is due in Buena Park in November. With that much invested and a smaller room to fill, it makes sense to get the details right before inviting everyone in.

Walter's Comes Back One Meal at a Time

Across the Village at 310 N. Yale Ave., Walter's is taking the same approach. The early-morning fire on August 22, 2024 damaged the restaurant and five neighboring businesses. A week after the fire, general manager Dawoud Ghafarshad told the Courier that the electrical system, prep kitchen and dishwashing areas were heavily damaged. The patio, the cottages and the front of the house were mostly spared.

More than two years later, Walter's website lists a phased reopening starting Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Hours, seating areas and menu items will expand each week.

• Week 1, October 14–18: Lunch Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brunch Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Week 2, October 21–25: Adds dinner Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 10 p.m.
• Week 3, October 26–November 1: Adds happy hour Monday through Friday, 3 to 6 p.m., and late night Thursday through Saturday, 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

The restaurant has also said that rising labor, food and supply costs mean higher menu prices, and that the fresh-baked bread served at the table will now carry a charge. Reservations are open through the restaurant's site. Walter's says it has been a Claremont gathering place since 1957, and that the restoration work aimed to keep the character and traditions people remember.

The Week Everything Lines Up

Put the two schedules side by side and the week of October 26 is the first week both are fully running.

On Tuesday, October 27, you can go to happy hour at Walter's and still make an $8 movie on Second Street. That's the first Tuesday both are on that schedule. Two days later, a Thursday evening could start with dinner at Walter's, move to a film and end back at Walter's for late night. That late-night service didn't exist on either schedule until this month.

Both businesses describe these weeks as a ramp-up. Regency used its soft opening to train staff and fix problems before the bigger push. Walter's is adding services each week. Check showtimes and the reservation page before you head out, especially during the first two weeks.

We've watched both of these buildings sit dark from just up the road, and we're as glad as anyone to see the lights back on. If the activity around the Village and Village West has you curious about what a nearby home might be worth this fall, Carlos & Pat Samuelson and Associates can give you a straightforward, local read. Get Your Instant Home Valuation.