The Loop Newspaper - Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide

Downtown comes alive – The line of potential employees hoping to get a job at the Hitching Post Theaters at 201 S. Green St. wrapped around the corner on April 17. Theater owner Will Viner said 70 people applied for the 10 openings. "I was happy to see the turnout," Viner said. The four-screen theater is a primary source of employment for local teenagers, and most of the applicants were 16 to 20 years old. The theater will open on May 14. A 50-percent audience capacity order may or may not still be in effect by then. Viner said hand sanitizer will be available and masks will be required, and a fogging machine will sterilize the auditoriums between each show. While all those hired are new, Chris Thurlow and Matt Wenecker will continue as the theater managers. Viner owns another theater at Big Bear Lake. The theaters have been closed for more than a year during the pandemic. "We have been barely hanging on," Viner said. He said he is not sure what films he will show at the re-opening.