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Wayfarer Theaters CEO Steve Sarowitz, center right, is pictured Friday, March 27, 2026, in Payson.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Wayfarer Theaters is pictured Friday, March 27, 2026, in Payson.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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Wayfarer Theaters CEO Steve Sarowitz, center right, is pictured Friday, March 27, 2026, in Payson.

Courtesy Wayfayer Studios

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Wayfarer Theaters CEO Steve Sarowitz speaks to Miss Payson Kylie Fausett on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Payson.

Jacob Nielson, Daily Herald

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At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when people were not gathering and the movie theater industry was struggling, the owner of Stadium Cinema in Payson, Kris Phillips, invited the community to drive up in their vehicles and pick up free popcorn.

The act of service reflected the characteristics of Phillips and her brother, Tim Johnson, that made the theater so appreciated by the community, according to Payson Mayor Bill Wright.

“Kris’s father built the theater,” Wright said. “He passed away during that (construction) process, and Kris and Tim just took over, completed the building and ran it for at least 25 years, and gave it just a hometown feel that we really enjoyed.”

After 25 years, Phillips and Johnson sold it last year to Wayfarer Theaters, a Chicago-based company owned by businessman and co-founder of Wayfarer Studios Steve Sarowitz.

Taken at face value, it doesn’t seem like the theater’s new ownership would fit into the fabric of the growing yet still tight-knit Payson community, with a predominant Latter-day Saints population and a mayor who wears a cowboy hat.

Sarowitz, the founder of Paylocity, lives in big city Chicago, is worth over a billion dollars, wears a stylish suit jacket and is well-connected in the media world, executive producing movies such as “Eleanor the Great” and “It Ends With Us.”

But hearing Sarowitz’s vision for Wayfarer Theaters, which he calls a “labor of love,” suggests the unlikely duo of Payson and Wayfarer has more in common than meets the eye.

Sarowitz shared his thoughts in the lobby of his hotel Thursday, prior to the official opening for Wayfarer Theaters on Friday morning in Payson.

“Payson is a very family-oriented community,” Sarowitz said. “(Phillips and Johnson) didn’t like R-rated movies. They liked family movies. A lot of kids there.

“We really loved coming to Payson because my philosophy on movies is what you put in your body is important. What you eat is important. What you put in your soul is also very important. And I believe that a lot of movies nowadays are not really paying attention to that.”

Sarowitz, who is also on the board of Provo-based Angel Studios — sparking his involvement in Utah County — was offered a failing movie theater for free in his hometown of Highland Park, Illinois, three years ago and turned it into Wayfarer Theaters, with a primary objective of playing uplifting and thoughtful movies. Payson’s theater will follow the same mold.

To Sarowitz, that means no horror movies and no films with excess violence. Clay Stamper, managing director of Wayfarer Theaters, added Friday that it also means no movies that glorify gratuitous sex, violence, drugs or alcohol use, especially by minors.

“I would call Payson a supportive community,” Sarowitz said. “They’re the type of community we were looking for — a community that has faith, that has family. It’s not really a political thing. It’s not left or right. It’s really about good values, which I think exist on both sides of the spectrum. It’s really about, for most parents, they want their children to experience positive and educational films, and they don’t want to worry about what their kids are watching.”

That falls in line with what Wright believes his city wants.

“Hard to see good movies, and we trust that they will do that for the community, and then we can come and enjoy the movies that are out,” Wright said.

Beyond the movies shown, Wayfarer says it aims to maintain the community feel that the Payson theater provides. That means $5 Tuesdays will continue, and the price of popcorn and movie tickets will stay the same, according to Stamper.

A transportable stage will be installed in the Payson theater, and Sarowitz intends to host plays and comedy nights and bring in actors and directors to speak. He said they’ve brought in Jane Goodall, Rainn Wilson, Geena Davis and others to the Highland Park theater.

“We’re looking at the theater as a community center,” Sarowitz said.

The plan is not cash-driven. Sarowitz said he’s lost money every month for three years at his theater in Highland Park. He’s motivated by his own beliefs as a member of the Baháʼí Faith. He said the religion’s objective is to serve humanity and that everything he does is with that goal in mind.

“I was very fortunate in business. I started a company called Paylocity. Paylocity is now a multibillion-dollar, publicly held company. I became very wealthy because of it. So I’m always trying to invest in things that will make the world a better place,” he said.

He’s centered his efforts on the entertainment industry. Beyond the two movie theaters, Wayfarer Studios, which he co-founded alongside Justin Baldoni, has produced 15 movies with positivity in mind. Sarowitz also recently joined the board at Angel Studios, a media production company based in Provo.

“I think our entertainment industry needs, in a sense, a reformation or a revolution. … What we’re trying to do every day is put out a product that educates and uplifts the world, shows the nobility of every human being, and the movie theater is an extension of that. It’s a way for us to show our movies and really help communities,” Sarowitz said.