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Maven Cinemas owners Joe and Dvorah Governale pose for a photo in front of Fat Daddy's Pizzeria in Provo on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. The couple is collaborating with the pizzeria for a string of events to combine movies and dining.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

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Posters of popular classic films are shown on a wall inside of Fat Daddy's Pizzeria on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

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A photo taken on July 2, 2024, shows the outside sign and marquee of the Maven Cinemas in American Fork. An apparent electrical fire has left the building without power since the beginning of June 2024.

Curtis Booker, Daily Herald

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Dvorah and Joseph Governale stand behind the counter at Maven Cinemas, which they opened in October to replace Towne Cinemas on Main Street in American Fork. The theater shows classic films and old movies, and during the holiday season, Christmas classics will be shown on the big screen.

Nichole Whiteley, Daily Herald

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Driving along Main Street in American Fork, you may notice the marquee outside Maven Cinemas that says “extended intermission” on one side and “you are loved” on the other.

That “love” for the community may just be the reason why the owners of the resurrected retro movie theater are interrupting the intermission and once again putting classic films on the projector screen before an audience.

But they’ll have to do it in another space — or several other locations.

In early June, the shows came to a halt due to an electrical fire inside the building that houses the theater along with five other tenants — one of whom lived on the top floor.

As the Daily Herald reported, co-owner Dvorah Governale said they had trouble communicating with the owners of the building and getting an accurate timeline of when the issues would be resolved and could they could reopen.

The couple made the decision to close in early July as the building was left dark and their business in limbo.

Six months later, according to the Governales, the power remains off.

Since then, community members have rallied around the theatre-loving couple in hopes they will reopen again there or somewhere else.

“That building has been a staple in the community for a long time. So people were really excited when we brought movies back to that location,” owner Joseph Governale said. “And I think everyone was really hopeful that it would come back, that we would be able to open that building again.”

The Governales’ passion for movies and creating memorable experiences was evident to the dozens of people who visited Maven Cinemas each week to watch classic titles on the big screen — at least during the short period of time it was open.

The couple had a dream to revive historic movie theaters, and what better place to do it than the building previously known as Towne Cinemas, or as many locals referred to it, the “Sticky Shoe theater.”

The Governales worked to restore the old theater and bring it back to life where they reopened it as Maven Cinemas in October 2023, turning their dream into a reality.

For the next nine months, classic films graced the screens each week at Maven Cinemas. The Governales would often host events aligning with classic titles like Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and even a Saturday morning pajama party where they showed classic Looney Tunes cartoons on the big screen.

All in favor of creating magical memories the same way its predecessor did since the early 1950s.

With the Maven Cinemas location unlikely to reopen, an idea was formed to collaborate with small businesses to keep the classic movie revival alive with different events.

Fortunately, the Governales had already built a relationship with the owners of Fat Daddy’s Pizzeria in Provo prior to the fire.

Inspired by a cinematic experience that brings movie and food lovers together in cities like Las Vegas and Portland called “Fork n’ Film” the two are uniting for their own iteration “Pizza and Pictures.”

The yummy collaboration will offer a slice of holiday cheer with extra cheese and toppings in a 7:30 p.m. showing of “Home Alone” on Thursday.

“We are both local business owners and it means the world to us to create an evening that blends the magic of the holiday season with the simple joy of gathering with neighbors,” said Janine Coons, owner and operator of Fat Daddy’s Pizzeria, in an emailed statement.

Attendees also will notice menu selections that are in sync with scenes throughout the 34-year-old movie like “nutritious” mac and cheese bites, paint cans filled with popcorn among other festive items.

“We’re looking to see if we can make this a monthly event with them every month. So that’s our hope, we can get the rights every month,” Dvorah Governale said.

The Governales also are in talks with the Angelus Theater in Spanish Fork for a lineup of events.

The couple said after Maven’s closure, many community members suggested they start a crowdfunding campaign to help them gather enough funds to continue showing historic films.

A recently started crowdfunding campaign is up with the goal of raising $50,000 to help recoup startup monies spent to restore equipment and other costs needed to open Maven Cinemas last year.

“So the hope is that we’re able to have the bandwidth to be able to keep moving forward, since we did send the money to fix that equipment,” Dvorah Governale said.

For now, they’ll work with places like Fat Daddy’s Pizzeria who will provide the space, food and accommodations, while the Governales secure rights to show the movies and equipment to screen them.

Their ultimate goal is once again to find another building, but they admit it could take some time.

And while funds are vital to their plans of starting over, for Joe and Dvorah, it’s largely about bringing joy and laughter to movie lovers of different generations.

“We love storytelling, we love movies, we love the events and we love seeing people happy,” Joe Governale said. “It sounds the way it sounds, but none of either these events or the previous location was about money.”

The couple believes in the power of film for helping people process emotion and how movie theaters create community among adults, teenagers and young children.

“We need that time to connect. I think more and more we’re appreciating an event like something that feels fun,” Joe Governale explained. “This isn’t just watching ‘Home Alone’ in the movie theater, (but) about having a meal and having that shared experience of that community event.”

Fat Daddy’s Pizzeria is located at 223 W. Center St. in Provo.

For more information, visit mavencinemas.com.