Cambridge is about to get its second movie theatre, but it's a little smaller than you'd think.
Little Prince Cine-Lounge is close to completion at its Cambridge location at the Gaslight District in downtown Galt.
With its original, Stratford location named the smallest movie theatre in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records, the man behind the tiny theatre is hoping the second location has a big impact on local moviegoers.
"I love movies and we used to host some film competitions for local filmmakers, amateur filmmakers; it was just open to whatever and was just a fun thing," says Leigh Cooney, founder of the Little Prince.
Originally from Kitchener, Cooney spent a lot of time at the Princess Cinema. When he was tasked with coming up with a name for his own theatre, he decided on the name Little Prince as a nod to the Waterloo movie house.
Cooney opened up his first location in the back of his Stratford gift shop just before the pandemic hit and says he originally envisioned having a few chairs, a projector and some friends watching movies, but the demand soon started to grow.
After building tiered seating, he earned a visit from the City of Stratford building department and was promptly shut down.
"Apparently you can't just build a movie theatre in your shop," Cooney laughs.
Having to deal with building departments in Stratford is something that Little Prince has taken head-on with their upcoming Cambridge location as they are working closely with the city and the Gaslight District to make sure everything is up to code.
This has also pushed their opening date a bit further ahead than they would like, but Conney adds that doing things right the first time is the way to go.
Being the second smallest movie theatre in the world also had its challenges as Cooney adds the city's planning department doesn't have any guidelines for micro-cinemas.
"It was a learning process for all of us and things do keep on changing. They have building codes for movie theatres, but that is for a capacity of like 500, this is for 13, so we can't always go by what is already there," he says.
The theatre sits on the second story of the Gaslight District, directly above the Foundry Tavern. Scott Higgins, president of HIP Developments and the Gaslight team sought out Cooney and his unique entertainment space as a perfect candidate for one of the small available studio spaces.
After accepting the space, Cooney had to then start designing the theatre, taking a lot of inspiration from his Stratford location.
"We really wanted to make this 13 seats, because the Stratford one has 12 and I really don't want to be in competition with myself for the smallest theatre," he says. "Everything you see in her we have hand built and done everything ourselves."
One of the most important things for the Little Prince business model is low cost and low overhead. Everything from the concession bar-like stand to the walls, flooring and seats were all built by Cooney and his family.
"My parents will come in and help and so does my brother, but besides that, it is just me and some tools," he adds.
With only a 12 or 13-seat capacity, The Little Prince can be rented out for private screenings or birthday parties.
While Little Prince can't show films that are still in mainstream movie theatres, their licensing deal allows them to play over 30,000 movies as recent as three months old.
"We sometimes will show the Oscar-nominated movies and by the time of the award show they aren't new movies anymore, but for a lot of people this will be the first time they've heard of them, so it's a pretty cool experience," Cooney says.
Opening in Stratford during the pandemic, Cooney noticed there was a demand for a unique and intimate viewing experience; something he is excited to bring to Cambridge.
"Watching a movie I made, putting all this work into it and trying to watch it on a tiny little screen, or at best, watching it on my TV at home; that doesn't feel the same as sitting in a theatre," he says of amateur filmmakers.
"It makes it feel like a movie; that makes it feel like an experience. That's what we're in the industry of, experience."
To make movie-goers feel even more immersed, the theatre will offer bottomless popcorn, retro candy, snacks and soft drinks.
With the majority of the permits secured and only few minor details still in process, Cooney says he's hoping Little Prince will be open for a soft launch just before Christmas.
If everything goes well, Little Prince could also get a second location at the Gaslight, but in a different theme. Cooney has his eyes set on a 1980s neon if it works out.
"My goal is to make the customer happy and enjoy their experience," Cooney says. "I always want to make sure people leave here happy and want to return and I can't wait to get this place open."
