The Bryan city council held a special meeting Friday, in part to unanimously approve a six year contract with a private company to manage and operate downtown Bryan’s Palace and Queen theater properties.
The third party company is owned by Mark Schulman, a fourth generation member of the family that opened the Palace in 1928 and rebuilt and reopened the Queen in 1939.
The contract calls for the city to be reimbursed up to three hundred thousand dollars a year, then 60 percent of any remaining revenue.
The contract calls for Schulman’s company to invest at least $200,000 dollars into the properties. Improvements that are required to be completed by the end of October includes at both properties…new seating, projection systems, wall to wall retractable screens, and food and beverage service. And the canopy at the Palace will be replaced with a waterproof or water resistant cover.
The contract calls for the city to pay a management fee of $25,000 dollars a month and putting $65,000 towards start up costs.
Each year, the city will be reimbursed up to $300,000 dollars, then 60 percent of any remaining revenue.
Click below for comments from Mark Schulman, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver, along with mayor Andrew Nelson and councilman Bobby Gutierrez from the June 25, 2021 Bryan council meeting.