Let’s get social: Tri-County Cineplex making the switch to ‘Cinema Social’ in November

Since before the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a near standstill, Tri-County Cineplex owners Greg and Suzie Razmus had visions of turning their south Corbin theater into a full-on, one-stop shop for family fun and entertainment. Now, after that massive setback three years ago, the pair are almost ready to unveil Cinema Social to the world.

“This has been a vision of ours for six years,” said Suzie Razmus. “We wanted to go in this direction even before the pandemic, but when that happened, and we had that forced break in time, we started getting really serious about the vision, and about moving forward with diversifying our options here.”

And Cinema Social will be diverse in its offerings, including a full arcade, virtual reality, string pin bowling lanes, expanded food offerings, and a bar area with a large projector screen, just to name a few.

Local residents have come to know and love Tri-County Cineplex over the years as a place where couples, friends and families can come and enjoy a movie. Razmus says that, moving forward, she is excited about being able to rebrand into a true family entertainment center.

“We want this to be a meeting place where the community can come together,” Razmus said of the idea behind Cinema Social. “As a movie theater, you can come and watch movies, and that is awesome, but it isn’t really a place where you can come and socialize. Now, people can come and hang out all day if they want because there will be so many options of things to do.”

Of course, Cinema Social will continue to offer movies as part of its regular entertainment lineup, with five screens showing whatever the latest films happen to be.

So, when will all of this fun and excitement be ready for the general public? Those visiting or passing by the theater recently have likely noticed that things are looking a little different than they once did. Fresh paint, new sidewalks and some updated signage all signal that the newly re-modeled facility will soon be ready to open the doors.

“We are planning a soft opening for the first part of November,” Razmus said, indicating that, assuming all goes to plan, folks should be able to get their first look at Cinema Social within the next 3-4 weeks.

Razmus encouraged everyone to keep an eye on advertisements in this and other local publications, as well as the Tri-County Cineplex website and Facebook page, for more updates in the coming days.

As for getting to this point, Razmus said that it has taken a lot of work, but she also knows that the work will be worth it in the end.

“It has been quite a process,” Razmus said. “It has been really complicated, because it’s like we’re opening four new businesses under one roof. It has definitely taken a lot of work to put all of the pieces together, but we are very close now. We’re just putting on the finishing touches.”

Once Cinema Social is fully operational, the entertainment center will be open seven days a week and will be the only facility of its kind on the I-75 corridor between Knoxville and Lexington.

Razmus said that applications are being accepted, as additional employees will be needed to fill positions, such as kitchen staff, bartenders, food runners and arcade attendants. More information is available online at www.tricountycineplex.com.

“We are really excited to get open and start serving the public,” Razmus said. “It will be a great time. We strive to be an asset to our community, and our goal is to give families a fun and safe place to just come and be social!”