Beach Theatre revival: Meet the new 25-year-old owner with big plans
Here’s how a local family acquired the St. Pete Beach landmark — and what their plans are for its next chapter.

By Gabrielle Calise
Tampa Bay Times
Published: Mar 6, 2024

Hannah Hockman never got to visit the Beach Theatre before it closed over a decade ago. But her entrepreneur parents, Ron and Sissy Hockman, have fond memories of date nights there in the 1980s and ’90s.

The Hockman family, the latest owners of the powder blue movie theater at 315 Corey Ave., now has a chance to put their own spin on the St. Pete Beach landmark. Twenty-five-year-old Hannah is the new face of the vintage movie palace, serving as its director.

Here’s how she landed her dream property — and what she plans to do with it.

Meet the new owners of the Beach Theatre

The Hockman family closed on the historic property last Thursday, purchasing it for $1 million. The three live together on St. Pete Beach.

“We’re here to stay,” Sissy said. “We want it here for us and the community.”

Ron is retired after running a successful insurance agency in Tampa for decades. Sissy has experience with organizing community events. She also helped with Calvary Christian High School theater productions when Hannah was a student there.

Hannah graduated from Eckerd College in 2021, studying theater with a double minor in marketing and music. She acted and completed several independent studies on directing with the theater department, also earning a film scholarship and taking classes on cinema.

During Hannah’s first week at Eckerd in 2017, she went on a school trip to a history museum in Pass-a-Grille. The Beach Theatre, which opened in 1940, came up.

“We always dreamed of owning a theater just like that,” she said. “So I called my parents and I said, ‘Is this place still around? Can we have our theater company here?’ And my parents kind of chuckled and said, ‘Oh we know what the Beach Theatre is.’”

At the time, the property was still tied up in legal entanglements following the 2013 death of its previous owner, screenplay writer Michael France Jr. It finally went on the market in 2021, shortly after Hannah graduated from Eckerd and started a job with American Stage Theatre Company.

Nearly a dozen bidders, including the Hockmans, pounced on the property the day it went up for sale. They lost to Christopher Scott, who paid $652,000. His offer — $173,000 over asking price — was just $2,000 higher than the Hockman’s.

“That was pretty heartbreaking back then,” Hannah said. “Once it was sold we kind of thought, OK, that’s the end of the story.”

But despite hosting community meetings and fundraisers, Scott was not able to reopen the theater. The 4,800-square foot property came with several time-consuming challenges, including damage from a roof leak in the main auditorium area.

“After working and trying to get the theater up and running and working with different contractors ... I made the decision to sell it,” Scott told the Tampa Bay Times last week. “I found someone who has more experience in the industry and who’s got more time to devote to it.”

Scott reached out to the next highest bidder to see if they still wanted it. The Hockmans went under contract on Nov. 29 — Hannah’s 25th birthday — and closed on Leap Day. They shared the news with a Facebook post and a new website on March 1.

“Within an hour I had hundreds of responses with people emailing us and commenting,” Hannah said. “It was insane.”

The new vision for the Beach Theatre

The Beach Theatre will reopen as a movie theater and live entertainment space (think theater, music and cabaret). Patrons will walk into the lobby and see classic concessions, plus a space to hang out. Inside, the theater will have between 140 and 160 seats, plus a stage with a roll-up screen. There will also be a green room added for actors and musicians.

“The building is basically a shell. There are four walls and not much else,” Hannah said. “We have to put in everything — drywall, seats, a stage. You name it, we need to put it in there.”

They will use the same architect and builder that Scott planned to work with: John A. Bodziak Architect AIA and Brandon Construction Company. The plans will be submitted to the city this week or next.

The Hockmans are embracing the theater’s Art Deco history. The branding, designed by Eckerd graduate Ace Muccio, incorporates vintage design elements and a shade of “Beach Theatre blue.”

The family hopes their project caters to a variety of demographics, from snowbirds and spring breakers to local residents and students. They will continue to have a presence at the Corey Avenue Sunday Market, where they can hear from folks in the community and share updates. Sissy is hoping to reach any residents who have memories of the theater.

“I really want to honor those people. They grew up going there,” she said.

The Hockmans found inspiration in the Dallas Theater in Georgia, another 1940s-era building that offers both film and theater. Hannah’s former high school drama teacher works there and invited the family for a visit.

“They got to show us how they store all of their props and it was so amazing to see a theater that is so loved by the community and so reminiscent of what we hope the Beach Theatre will be,” Hannah said. “They’ve kind of become our unofficial sister theater.”

If all goes to plan, the Hockmans hope to open on March 1, 2025.

“It has been closed for so long that people are a little skeptical, and that’s understandable. But all I can say is we love this place and that’s why we bought it, because we want to open it,” Hannah said. “This is my future and we hope that this is a future that the community can get behind.”