Loudon theater resumes operation

After being closed by a state order related to unpaid taxes, Historic Loudon Theatre has reopened with new management.

Shuttered in early January by the Tennessee Department of Revenue, the theater is owned by the city and leased by Gordon Whitener, owner of the LoCo Drive-In. The facility had been sublet to Jerry Ragle.

Whitener said he and his team are going to run the theater for the foreseeable future.

“The state went through whatever process that they needed to go through with the former tenant,” Whitener said. “Once they satisfied whatever requirements they had, they turned the building back over to the city. The city in turn turned it back over to us because we had the lease, and we have decided to try to move forward and run it as an event center like it was intended to be.”

In order to signify a new beginning, the facility will now be named Loudon Theatre. Whitener anticipates music events will continue at the location but also expects hosting weddings, rehearsal dinners and banquets.

For events run by the theater, no outside food and beverages will be allowed. Rental customers will have a list of local vendors available, which resembles how the drive-in works.

“We believe in working with local business,” Whitener said.

The theater will host a Valentine’s event Saturday, and a number of private events are already booked, he said.

Whitener said he wants good entertainment and private events held in the structure that boasts historical significance.

“We want the Loudon Theatre to be a mainstay in this community, and we want to have events and opportunities there for the community to enjoy it,” he said.

Loudon Mayor Jeff Harris said the state notified the city about the seizure that revolved around Ragle. The city and Whitener were in violation of nothing, Harris said.

During a 30-day period, musicians and artists were allowed in the building to retrieve equipment left behind.

In the interim, Whitener and employees have been thinking of ways to get the theater running again and what the vision for the establishment will be going forward.

Harris said the theater is a vital part of downtown and the focus now must be to get a schedule in place and decide what kind of activities to bring.

Whitener hopes to make the venue more accessible to the general public, Harris said.

“We’re there to support him and anything he wants to do there because we know how vital it is to our tourism and bringing people downtown,” Harris said. “We support his direction and the way he’s proceeding with it.

“We’ve pretty much given Gordon the green light just to plan it and organize it and manage the theater at his discretion,” he added. “That’s what he’s doing, and we stay in contact with him with that. We have a great relationship with him. We feel very good about him running it. … We’d do it the same way, I’m sure, if we had someone in there from our staff running it, so we support his direction.”

The city has owned the theater since 2019 as part of the stipulations associated with grants used to improve the building. The city’s ownership can end in August, and Whitener has indicated he would like to purchase the space, Harris said.

The goal was never to own and manage the theater but to remodel and reopen the establishment, Harris said.

“It’s vitally important,” he said. “It’s got a long history here in our community and it was empty for so long. Now that we’ve finally brought it back to life, it’s just very, very important that we keep it going.”