Albany

The city's landmark Madison Theatre is about to be cast in a more glamorous role.

The operators of Tierra Coffee Roasters, a coffee shop adjacent to the Pine Hills cinema, said Thursday they have arranged to take over the Madison and are planning a significant restoration that will reduce the number of screens but add a theater with approximately 400 seats.

Gunther Fishgold, who owns Tierra, and Darren Grout, CEO of the operation, will first lease the theater, but expect to eventually take ownership of the building under a deal they've arranged with current owner Joe Tesiero, who is based in Amsterdam.

Tesiero, who bought the Madison in 2005 for $225,000, may have rescued the 1920s-era theater from demolition. At the time of his purchase, the building had been vacant since 2003 and was being eyed as a drugstore site.

But Tesiero on Thursday said he decided to relinquish ownership because running the theater from a distance is too difficult. A purchase price was not disclosed.

Fishgold, meanwhile, said he sees the theater as an untapped opportunity, given its location in a thriving neighborhood that's near The College of Saint Rose.

"I believe in that neighborhood more than any I've ever been in," Fishgold said.

Fishgold and Grout will close the Madison Sunday. They're planning a multi-layered renovation, but hope to reopen in November.

Under their plans, the building's facade will get a facelift and a long-shuttered storefront at the front of the building will re-open as a Tierra Farms retail store. The theater's concession stand, meanwhile, will be expanded and modernized — with Fishgold planning upgrades that include gourmet popcorn, example. And the number of screens will drop from seven to two.

Those plans sound good to Virginia Hammer, president of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association.

"The building is just really in need of some work," Hammer said. "And we really believe there's a need for that kind of theater."

Fishgold said he has owned the Tierra coffeeshop since 2011. Earlier this year, he purchased the Ultraviolet Cafe on Delaware Avenue, which now also operates under the Tierra name.

cchurchill@timesunion.com • 518-454-5442 • @chris_churchill