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By Miya Jones
Call it Act 2.
Or Act 3.
Renovation and restoration work at the long-mothballed Beacon Theater in Port Washington is well underway, with an anticipated opening night being in about 18 months.
That would be around August 2026, which would also happen to be the building’s 100th anniversary.
“We can’t wait to see the retro transformation back to its original glory,” said Debbie Greco Cohen, board president of the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce.
The idea for a dinner-theater started when hospitality veteran and Long Island native Louis Branchinelli noticed more people were going out — and then staying in one spot — all night.
At the time, this was mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I felt like the dining experience changed,” said Branchinelli, who now co-owns the theater building at 116 Main St. “People started learning how to be confined and be happy with staying at a table. Then, you would realize they would put entertainment in some of these places and they would stay a while.”
So Branchinelli began looking for a large venue to do just this for local people.
The perfect location
Branchinelli’s sister brought the abandoned theater building in the heart of Port Washington to her brother’s attention.
He was in.
The plan initially was to make the space more modern, but as his team began looking closer, they found an unexpected surprise: original features of the theater that dated back to when it was built in 1926.
“There was a maintenance guy, Greg, and I said, ‘Greg, what’s on the other side of that wall?’” explained Branchinelli. “I saw this pole, I said, ‘What does this come from?’ He says, ‘Oh, this was the Beacon Theater.’”
“I do recall that there was [a Beacon Theater] on Long Island, but I didn’t know where it was,” he added.
The theater was first built in 1926 as the glitzy and glamorous Beacon Theater at 30,000 square feet, and art-deco inspired in style and design. It hosted live shows with a stage, boasted a single screen for moving pictures, an orchestra pit and velvet seats for attendees.
“As a designer, it’s very inspirational to see what somebody from the 1920s created,” said Taylor Cipriano of Gail Cipriano Design Studios, who is working on the project along with her mother, Gail Cipriano.
“They really took French and Italian, and you can tell all of the moldings have incredible detail. Seeing that has given us even more inspiration and excitement to develop the project.”
“The Beacon was part of what you would consider the Gold Coast era of Long Island,” said Leyalanny Mata of Port Washington, who is serving as a project liaison and development consultant. “I think that was a time where entertainment was live and personal. You had live singers and entertainment, amazing food and great service.
“We’re hoping to bring that back.”
The original 1920s design and features were covered by walls and pool covers when it was turned into a movie theater in the early 1970s — and renamed Bow Tie Cinema. The movie theater closed in 2018, falling victim to the decrease in overall movie attendance around this time — and a long preference for larger multiplexes.
How it looks today:
“Lou originally envisioned something akin to a light restoration of the original pieces with a kind of push into the modern,” said Mata. “But now as we’ve been uncovering more of the original structure of the Beacon, we are ready to bring back that Gatsby feel.”
The $15 million renovation officially began in 2023.
Along with Branchinelli, Mata, Gail and Taylor Cipriano, other key players on the project include building co-owner Brad Thurman, who is also the CEO of Thurcon Properties, the Port Washington company Greg’s Home Improvement, and Charles Ventimiglia, president of Tri-Rail Contractors Corp.
Features in the new venue will include a bar in the main lobby, a speakeasy-style sidebar and room, a sushi bar and fine dining options prepared by Michelin-star chefs, the team says.
The space will function as a dinner theater with an events space dynamic enough to where someone can come in for a casual drink at the bar and a burger, a fancy night out with live entertainment or host a large charity event.
“People want to customize everything to make it feel like it was for them and feel special,” said Gail Cipriano. “So, it’s just going to be a really special place just to have a luxury experience.”
Gail also said the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Community support was unbelievable,” said Gail. “I have never seen anything like that.”
Greco Cohen, of the Port Washington Chamber, also reflected on the personal connection she had to the theater.
“I have spent my entire life in Port Washington, as did my father,” she said. “For years it was the only movie theater in Port Washington. There was a soda shop nearby that made their own chocolate so we would sometimes go there to buy treats to eat in the theater.
“We are optimistic that visitors to the theater from other towns as well as Manhattan will also enjoy shopping and dining in Port’s shopping district.”
As of now, the hope is to host a grand opening night in about 18 months.
“This is the Beacon Theater; this is royalty,” said Branchinelli. “I can now take my dining and entertainment idea and merge it into what I believe is the best theater ever built on Long Island.”
The project is partially funded by investors and others interested in donating to the theater’s restoration.
If interested in the project, contact [email protected].
Top: The theater was first built in 1926 as the glitzy and glamorous Beacon Theater. Credit: Miya Jones
