Today Peter Foss is hard at work at a project that will benefit the entire community of Devils Lake and the Lake Region, he is the project manager of the renovations happening to the city’s former movie theater that was known as AMC.

The new and improved theater will have a new and improved name; Encore 301.

How appropriate! The word “Encore” means “a demand for repetition or reappearance made by an audience,” “a demand for more.” (from the Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary)

And 301? Well, very simply, Devils Lake’s zip code is 58301 – the 301 designates Devils Lake.

The folks from Devils Lake’s Xtreme Signs and Graphix are working with Foss and the Unpopped Colonels (the LLC that is behind this project) to develop the new sign (seen here) and what the new front of the building will look like.

This reporter stopped in last week to visit the project and to see how far Foss has come.

The entire building has been gutted down to the exterior walls, more or less. The carpets have all been removed, curtains gone, even the tile in the bathrooms is coming down. The flooring has all been taken up, removed and discarded. The seats are all gone, even the movie screens are all removed. The concession stand and ticket taking booth, both areas have been removed, gone. The three theaters remain where they were, but everything inside has been removed.

That means, when everything is in place and the new Encore 301 theater opens for business, everything will be fresh, new and clean! That is a good thing!

Foss is excited to see how it all comes together. “This part takes the longest,” he said, referring to the demolition and removal of debris. He started that in late May. They are almost done with all of that. Once any new construction is finished, including the concession stand and so on, Foss thought it shouldn’t take so very long to get the place ready for opening night. It depends on who you talk to, but Foss says they have nearly everything they need; new seats – all rocker chairs, new projectors, new sound, new screens and so on, they will be pretty close to the projected opening on or near Labor Day 2023, September 4. That, of course, is if everything goes smoothly.

“I’m excited to see how everyone responds to this project,” Foss added. “In many ways it has been a labor of love for this community.”

He also said that some of the original plans have changed slightly for the theater. They will not be adding a performance stage for live theater, as they had hoped to at the beginning.