2007 Economic Impact Awards Entrepreneur Honoree: Moxie Cinema

Moxie Cinema has carved its niche, offering small, art-house movies not shown at Springfield’s larger movie theaters.

But that’s not the only unique thing about Moxie, which opened in September 2005. Also different is the fact that the small business has turned a profit from the start.

“Some small businesses, when they open, the hardest thing for them is those first few months because no one knows that they’re open,” said co-owner Dan Chilton. “But we were kind of on the opposite side of that. Our first two months were huge – some of our biggest months on record. So many people wanted to come in and see it.”

A loyal customer group emerged after the initial dust of curiosity had settled, leading to 28,000 tickets sold and about $228,000 in revenue in 2006. Chilton and his wife, Nicole, expect that they’ll beat those figures by about 15 percent this year.

“We’re so excited to have the support we’ve gotten from the community for this business, because it’s a riskier one to open, especially since we had no business background,” Nicole Chilton said.

The Chiltons gave up jobs at St. Louis publishing firm Elsevier to return to Springfield and open Moxie in early 2005, not knowing if Springfieldians would share their love for outside-the-mainstream cinema: documentaries, foreign films and indie flicks.

They took out loans for about $50,000 to renovate their leased space at 408 W. Walnut St., which was formerly a teen outreach center and originally a bank, built in 1947. They hooked up with Paul Sturtz, a booking agent in Columbia, on whom they rely heavily for good films to show. They also rely on the reviews of film critics Roger Ebert, Kenneth Turan and David Edelstein.

The Chiltons stock their snack bar differently than other theaters, with choices that include popcorn flavorings, beer and wine. Future plans call for a full menu, including grilled cheese sandwiches.

Other unique aspects of the Moxie include the local art hung on the theater’s walls, introductions before each film and an intermission during each showing.

“We really push the experience of going to the movie here,” Dan Chilton said.

Tickets range from $4 to $8. September through December has proven to be Moxie’s busiest time, as sales of holiday gift certificates coincide with the release of many small-budget, Oscar-caliber films.

The Chiltons try to think outside the box – so much so that they don’t even restrict themselves to showing movies only inside their own theater, which has only 76 seats. Last Halloween, the Chiltons hosted a showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Landers Theater, 311 E. Walnut St. They’ve since shown several more movies in Landers, and this summer they plan to begin showing movies occasionally in Gillioz Theatre, 325 Park Central West.

The Chiltons paid for half the cost of adding a movie projector in Gillioz. In return, they have access to more than 1,000 seats for use during big premieres and other special showings. “One sold-out show at the Gillioz is 16 sold-out shows here,” Dan Chilton said.

While Moxie’s quick success hasn’t been easy to handle, the Chiltons enjoy what they do, and they have time to catch their breath while movies roll.

“It’s not like we’re breaking rocks for 60 hours a week,” Dan Chilton joked.

Moxie Cinema

Address: 408 W. Walnut St., Springfield, MO 65806

Movie Line: (417) 429-0800

Office: (417) 429-0801

Web site: www.moxiecinema.com

Employees: 6

2006 Revenues: $228,000

Information accurate at the time of the honor.[[In-content Ad]]