The exterior of the Ohio Theatre on Tuesday
Jacob Espinosa | The Lima News
LIMA — Michael Bouson said he and Joe Correll had plans to operate the Ohio Theatre for 10 years when they purchased the venue in 2020.
After those plans were almost instantly derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and repairs inside the building proved more extensive than they thought, the duo have finally decided to put the theatre back on the real estate market.
“We’re not rich guys,” Bouson said. “We had one investment property in California that we were able to sell to get the money to do this project, but that was all we had. We also thought when we opened that Joe and I would be able to get paid a small salary, but we haven’t been paid in the four years that we’ve been working on and operating the theatre and the truth of the matter is we’re just flat out of money, not interest, desire or energy, just money.”
The theatre hit a listing for $899,000 at bit.ly/47mOdDe July 25, boasting a transfer of liquor licenses, potential partnerships with the city’s Arctaris Impact Fund and features like the Ohio Room and its history.
Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jed Metzger called the news disappointing, but praised Bouson and Correll for bringing their ideas to the area in a venue that sorely needed them.
“This sort of business is not for profit,” he said. “You have to make tough decisions and I can tell you this is breaking their heart because they came here to do theater. Sometimes people don’t understand the cost of restoring historic buildings and they never got that jumpstart because of COVID so they’ve always played a catch-up game from that.”
Bouson and Corell bought the theatre in November 2020 and had ideas of hosting events like weddings, parties and concerts to go with the main intentions of producing dinner theatre shows and operating multiple bars on each floor, as well as cuisine from the kitchen.
But the pandemic caused costs to increase and investments did not come at the rate they expected, despite the city’s burgeoning downtown revitalization efforts and the establishment of Friends of the Ohio Theatre, a 501c3 designed to raise money for the renovation and preservation of the property.
“Things didn’t move as quickly as expected and the population didn’t respond as fervently as expected,” Bouson said. “We’ve been here for a little more than four years now and while we’ve had a handful of successes, we’re at the point now where, outside of large events, Joe and I are doing everything ourselves, including the kitchen, cleanup, the bar and all PR operations.”
Because they have been here four years, Bouson and Correll do not plan to abandon the theatre now or after selling it.
For one thing, they need to keep working and show prospective buyers the venue is worth investing in.
For another, they are still invested in the Lima community and would even be open to producing performances after selling the Ohio Theatre.
“If the Lima community wants the theatre to remain a gathering space, it’s so important to demonstrate to a potential buyer that it’s a viable choice for the property,” Bouson added. “So it’s important to support the events because if we have to discontinue them and the theatre just sits empty, it’s going to make it a lot more difficult for the right type of purchaser to come forward.”
To him and Correll, the right purchaser is either a deep-pocket investor who can ride out rough times while maintaining the venue’s status as a dinner theatre or a non-profit that can dedicate the time and effort necessary to acquire grants and donations that were never possible for themselves.
“I think it’s important to us and the community at large that the theatre remains a performance and gathering space with free and affordable events,” Bouson said. “But someone is going to have to pay the utility bills so there has to be some revenue involved for whoever purchases it.”
Fortunately, the theatre does have an active schedule about to resume starting with another Stand-up Comedy Night at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14 (bit.ly/4cSKWMU), as well as some of the hard work on repairs already completed.
“We had to use our own money to get the doors open,” Bouson said. “But the good news is the building is saved and whoever buys it can walk in and operate the next day. It’s an amazing facility right now and I wish we were walking in right now.”
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
