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The lit-up sign of the Harbor Theater, 1937 Lakeshore Drive, in 2010. The theater, which closed in 2012 will be reopen on Sept. 27.

(Chronicle file photo)

MUSKEGON, MI – Holton residents Daniel Taylor and Jason Tubergen didn't expect the community's imediate, mainly positive response when they posted on their new business's Facebook page last Friday afternoon.

Within hours on July 26, the status – which announced the reopening of the historic Harbor Theater, 1937 Lakeshore Dr. – received 178 "Likes" and 64 comments, which were mostly positive. The status was shared 168 times.

"All of a sudden it just blew up," Taylor said. "It was awesome."

The response has been encouraging for Taylor and Tubergen, who have recently taken ownership of the historic theater. They plan to open it on Sept. 27.

The Harbor Theater's new owners: Jason Tubergen (left), 36, and Daniel Taylor (right), 30. Both are from Holton.

The Harbor Theater opened in 1921 as the Rivoli, according to the theater's website, and was renamed Our Theatre in 1931. The Fonstein family purchased the theater in 1965 and gave the theater its current name. The Dhuses family bought the theater in 1976 and ran the Harbor until it closed June 2001.

The theater reopened in 2008 and specialized in independent and foreign movies, although in the months leading up to the Harbor's closing in January 2012, owners Brendan and Jen Pelto began showing more mainstream fare.

Now Tubergen, who is a transit system supervisor with Muskegon County, and Taylor, the owner of McKinley Travel in Fremont, will try their hand at running the business.

This is the first time they have operated a movie theater, although Taylor's family used to own a few theaters on the east side of the state, he said.

At first, Taylor and Tubergen wanted to take over Fremont Cinemas, which went out of business in June. But there were "too many hands in the pot," they said, so they looked elsewhere and found the Harbor. Taylor said he was impressed with the condition of the theater considering its age.

"It needs a lot of cleanup and we're going to remodel the stuff but, overall, it's in pretty good shape," he said.

For Tubergen, history played a part as well.

"When Dan mentioned the Harbor, I said, 'I used to come there all the time,' and (I) was just enthralled with just the history of it and its position here in Lakeside," he said.

Longtime residents will notice a few changes when the Lakeside neighborhood landmark reopens in September.

For one the thing, the theater has been officially renamed the Harbor Cinema, since another person owns the rights to use the original name, they said.

The new owners will also remodel the lobby and concession area. While the layout will be the same, they said the walls will be painted a different color, equipment will be updated and video menu screens will be installed.

The marquee will also be fixed and will look just like it did in its heyday, they said, but it will use LED lights instead of neon.

Taylor and Tubergen will also clean up the theaters, fix any chairs that need repair and update the sound system.

They also plan on converting the screen in the 325-seat Port Theater auditorium to digital.

The adjacent Starboard Theater, which seats 185 people, will continue to show 35mm films, although they hope to raise money after the theater opens so that they can convert that screen as well.

The exterior of the Harbor Theater on July 30.

The theater will also focus on first-run films instead of independent or foreign releases, a change that will help keep the theater running, according to the new owners.

"It's all about what's going to bring them (customers) to the door and what's going to keep the place open and it's going to mostly be first-run movies," Taylor said.

"We're still going to be doing independent movies and foreign films, especially on Oscar season and things like that, but our bread-and-butter is going to be mostly first-run (movies) because it's going to get the families and a lot more foot traffic," he said.

Taylor and Tubergen also plan on hosting special events, like screenings of old horror movies during Halloween.

Their biggest priority, though, is making sure the theater is part of the community, they said.

"Community's a big part to both of us," Tubergen said. "We want to be the ones in the parade, we want to be the ones reaching out, we want to offer the scholarships."

While that might not happen right away, the owners are already interacting with the public.

Through the theater's Facebook page, they've solicited feedback from potential patrons. Past posts have included whether the concession stand should offer Pepsi or Coke, and how much patrons would be willing to pay for a private suite box.

"Of course, you can't make everyone happy, but we can sure try," Tubergen said.

They have also decided to keep at least one Harbor tradition alive – the free coffee, complete with a jar for tips or donations.

Ticket prices will be $7 to $7.25 and concessions will be sold at affordable prices, they said.

The theater will also have a membership program that will offer ticket and concession discounts, an "I Support the Harbor Cinema" bumper sticker and admission to an annual "members only" party. Adult memberships are $49 per person and $29 for child members, open to those under 18 years old.

For more information about the theater, visit www.harborshowtimes.com or visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/harborcinema.

-- Email Lisha Arino at larino@mlive.com, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.