According to WSLS, the deal began with a phone call. Ron Willard II of the Willard Companies called Vicki Gardner, board secretary of the Smith Mountain Lake Center, and asked whether the group had thought about the cinema. "You want to see my eyes turn into plates," Gardner told the station.
That call led to a purchase contract signed Oct. 7, 2026. If the sale closes as expected by Nov. 15, the nonprofit will own the four-screen theater at 84 Westlake Road. Movies stay. The plan keeps them on half the screens. The other half becomes the stage, classrooms and gathering space the lake has never had in a building of its own. That trade is the whole story, and moviegoers will not feel it this winter.
Four rooms, four new jobs
The Center has posted a Phase 1 floor plan on smlcenter.org, and it is specific about each room. Theater 1 comes out completely. In its place go a welcome gallery with a café, a classroom and rehearsal room, a garden patio and meeting rooms. Theater 2 gets a performance stage with an attached green room. Theaters 3 and 4 stay as they are and keep showing movies.
| Room | Today | Proposed Phase 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Theater 1 | Movie screen | Removed for a gallery with café, classroom/rehearsal room, patio and meeting rooms |
| Theater 2 | Stage shows by Center Rep | Permanent performance stage with green room |
| Theater 3 | Movie screen | Movie screen |
| Theater 4 | Movie screen | Movie screen |
The table shows that part of the shift has already happened. WSLS reported that one of the four theaters has already been converted for live theater. The cinema's showtime page for Oct. 28 and 29 listed three films, which fits three movie rooms and one stage. Phase 1 takes the next step and goes from three screens to two.
The Center also says the long-term plan adds classic movies and other special film programming next to first- and second-run releases. The two remaining screens will have a wider range of films to show.
The stage earned its room first
The stage has been filling seats since before the purchase contract existed.
- September 2025: "The Addams Family," the Center's first production in the building, sold out.
- April 30 to May 10, 2026: "Bonnie & Clyde" also sold out.
- Oct. 22 to Nov. 1, 2026: "Zombie Prom" ran in Theater 2, directed by board member and artistic director Matt Karris.
The company on that stage is Center Rep, the troupe formerly known as the Lake Players. Its roots go back to a play-reading group in the mid-1990s. According to the Laker Weekly, the group affiliated with the Smith Mountain Arts Council and took the Lake Players name in 2006. WSLS described the current casts as a mix of professionals from New York and local community theater performers.
The Center plans to use the stage for more than plays. According to the Smith Mountain Eagle, the renovated spaces are expected to host youth and adult education, lectures, concerts, business functions, receptions and a Community Connections lounge.
Why a 2005 cinema, after years of looking
The idea is much older than the building. The Smith Mountain Eagle traces the vision for a lake community center back more than 25 years to the late Don Fink, a longtime lake advocate who imagined a place for concerts, stage productions and gatherings.
An earlier plan aimed at the former Grand Home Furnishings building. Cardinal News described it in 2022 as a vacant 40,000-square-foot building. The Roanoke Times reported that Rock Outdoors bought that property before the fundraising campaign could finish. The Center announced a letter of intent for Westlake Cinema on March 15, 2025.
The cinema came already equipped for an audience. The Willard Companies opened it in 2005 as a 13,800-square-foot four-plex. Board president Jack Phillips explained the fit to the Smith Mountain Eagle:
"This plan is especially practical and appealing because the building is ideally located near shops, businesses and restaurants and already offers lighted parking, restrooms, projection and sound equipment, and theater seating."
That built-in setup explains why the stage could open years before any construction. It also explains why the owners can keep selling movie tickets while the Center raises money.
What a movie night looks like this winter
For now, the experience stays the same. Westlake Cinema's ticket pricing page lists adult admission at $8 before 5 p.m. and $11.50 from 5 p.m. on. The page also notes that prices and showtimes can change without notice.
Phillips laid out the order of events to WSLS. "At first, we'll just keep it as it is as we continue our fundraising," he said, adding that the Center still needs about $750,000 before renovations can start. Here is the sequence, with the firm dates first:
- By Nov. 15, 2026: the purchase is expected to close.
- By Nov. 20, 2026: gifts or signed pledges of $2,500 or more qualify donors for the Founders Circle, which recognizes them as founding members.
- "By June or so": when Phillips told WSLS in October he hopes the remaining $750,000 is raised.
- Roughly a year after that: Phillips's estimate for renovation, "in the order of a year."
The Center has raised more than $3 million in gifts and commitments so far. No construction start date has been announced, and the two later steps are hopes stated in an interview, not scheduled dates. Renovation waits on that last $750,000, so for now Theater 1 keeps its screen.
The rest of Westlake Towne Center is moving toward evenings, too
The cinema is not the only Westlake building getting a second life with live entertainment. Jeanna and Christopher Williams have bought the former Sunken City Brewery at 40 Brewery Drive. The Smith Mountain Eagle reports they are turning it into The Black Angus Company, a 9,000-square-foot venue with a patio. Construction is slated to start in early January, and the opening target is Memorial Day weekend 2027.
The plan has four parts: the Circle J Tavern, a billiards lounge called the Circle J Cattleman's Club, a Western-themed retail shop with room for local artisans, and Circle J Events for live music and private gatherings. Jeanna Williams told the paper the beef will come from the family's Circle J Ranch in Goodview and from local farms. The couple also plans karaoke, themed nights, both local and national acts, and Sunday brunch with football and basketball on the screens.
Taken together, Westlake's two biggest entertainment buildings are being rebuilt around live performance on overlapping schedules. The tavern is aiming for Memorial Day 2027. The cinema's renovation starts only after the fundraising wraps up, and Phillips expects the work itself to take about a year. Until then, Theater 1 is still showing movies, and the pricing page still lists an adult matinee at $8.
If you love movies at Westlake or have a seat saved for Center Rep's next show, we'd be glad to talk about life near Westlake Towne Center. That includes the homes within an easy evening drive of the cinema and the tavern coming next door. Virginia Realty Group follows these changes closely because they shape how this part of the lake lives, and Kendra is always happy to share what she's hearing. Contact Kendra.
