Santikos Theatres is now Santikos Entertainment. The local theater chain unveiled its new name change and logo Wednesday night at an event held at the Palladium Theater.
Along with its new corporate look, Santikos Entertainment shared its new mission, which reflects the new direction of the company: “Santikos Entertainment now exists for the sole benefit of the community,” the company's press release read.
“Santikos Entertainment is the first and only theater group to now operate as a social enterprise,” said David Holmes, president and CEO of Santikos Entertainment. “The public can see a movie anywhere, but every time they see a movie at Santikos, they become a vital part of our charitable legacy.”
This legacy began after Santikos Theatres founder, John L. Santikos, passed away late last year. As part of his estate, Santikos was gifted to the San Antonio Area Foundation. It was the largest single charitable donation in the history of the city. The estimated value was $605 million.
The legacy fund, which has already awarded grants to 113 local agencies, including the Southwest School of Art, the San Antonio Museum of Art and the McNay Art Museum, will grant $12 million more funds in 2016. Now, with Santikos Entertainment in place, the future of the legacy fund is secure for the foreseeable future.
From the press release: “The net result of dollars spent on movie tickets and amenities funnels back into the local community in the form of donations, sponsorships, grants and programming...”
“We have set the goal posts very high for ourselves,” Holmes said. “Our plans are that over the next 10 years, we will return an average of over $20 million per year to the [San Antonio] Area Foundation for distribution.”
Later this year, Santikos Entertainment will open its newest location, Casa Blanca, in Alamo Ranch, on the city's northwest side. According to Holmes, it will be the first fully laser digital theater in the world and will feature 16 screens, in-theater dining, full bar service and 16 lanes of bowling.
