Leon & Lulu to Expand

October 5, 2011  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Acquisition on October 6, 2011 Clawson, Mich., retailer Leon & Lulu is expanding with the purchase of a local movie house.

The Clawson Theater was built in 1941€”the same year as the roller rink that houses Leon & Lulu€”but the last film was shown in about 1962. Since then the building has been used as a warehouse, café and light industrial but has been vacant in recent memory. Plans for the 7,800-square-foot site include replacing the marquee and restoring the building for use as additional retail space for the retailer, as well as embracing the history and the spirit of €œThe Show€, as the locals called it.  

Leon & Lulu opened April 1, 2006 in the 15,000-square-foot ambassador Roller Rink and has received national recognition for the adaptive reuse of that building. It still boasts the original floor, hockey scoreboard, disco ball and more than 300 pairs of skates that are used in the displays, and sometimes on the feet of the employees.

The theater will require massive renovation and retrofitting to regain the appearance of a classic downtown Main Street theater while providing a space for additional retail as well as a bakery café. The new store, as yet unnamed, is expected to open in spring of 2012.

€œMy husband and I are delighted to bring another Clawson landmark back to life," said owner Mary Liz Curtin. "The theater will be a natural extension of the space we have now and give us more room for merchandise, charity events and, of course, lots of fun.€œ