The Colonia Theatre in Norwich reopened after being closed for over a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Owner Rich Barnes implemented a new air filtration system to keep patrons safe. (Photo by Dustin Genter of 5th Dimension Photography)

NORWICH — After nearly a year and a half of COVID pandemic restrictions and business closures, things are finally starting to open back up.

The Colonia Theatre in Norwich officially reopened its doors Friday, June 25. The theater will be showing movies Thursday through Friday every week.

Owner of the Colonia Theatre Rich Barnes said that despite running a drive-in last summer, the pandemic has caused financial concerns.

"My concern is basically the economic strain that this has caused, being closed this long," said Barnes. "Todd [Barnes] and I lost money doing that last year."

Despite the hardships, Barnes has persevered and is focusing on keeping moviegoers comfortable and safe. One of his new safety measures is a state of the art air filtration system he installed in both theaters and above the concession stand.

"It consists of UV lights on both the feed and the return," he said. "Each feed has it's own system of duct work and so that's why we could have a controlled environment in each theater."

Barnes said each system contains magnetic charcoal filters as well, which purifies the air. What's more, the systems also contain sensors which will allow theater employees to monitor the air quality.

"We're having sensors put in the systems so this way the monitors that are out in the concession area, you can actually see the air quality in the theater,” Barnes explained.