A high-end dine-in movie theater experience that has anchored one of Fort Lee’s largest modern developments will go dark later this year, as iPic will shutter after a decade-long run.
Late last month, iPic Theaters LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. The company operates 13 dine-in theater locations and eight restaurant units nationwide, with the Fort Lee location within the Hudson Lights complex as their only Garden State location.
A recently filed New Jersey WARN notice states that 97 employees at iPIC Theaters in Fort Lee will be laid off at the end of May. The company listed an effective date of May 28 in the paperwork it submitted to the New Jersey Department of Labor.
Launched in 2016, the eight-screen, 533-seat iPic Theater was once the fastest-growing luxury cinema chain in the country. The theater features a full-service restaurant that allows guests to order complete meals to their seats during films, and also sports a full bar with cocktails, wine, and beer.
To say the movie theater business has changed dramatically since iPic first came to Fort Lee is an understatement. The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on theaters nationwide, and the availability of in-home movie options has caused further upheaval in the industry, factors iPic noted in its bankruptcy filing.
“These industry shifts have directly reduced box office revenues and related ancillary revenues, including food and beverage sales,” the company stated in its bankruptcy filing. iPic also attributed rising rents and labor costs as part of their decision to file for Chapter 11.
iPic’s total company assets were valued at about $155.3 million in their bankruptcy filing, the majority of which came from their theater equipment and furniture. Their liabilities totaled $113.9 million, with the company estimating it owed about $141,000 in taxes and about $2.7 million in total unsecured claims.
Despite the bad news, iPic’s Fort Lee location will remain open for the short term until the end of May.
“We are committed to continuing our business operations with minimal impact throughout the process and will endeavor to serve our customers with the high standard of care they have come to expect from us,” iPic Chief Executive Patrick Quinn said in a statement.
