The former Chagrin Cinema 6 in Bainbridge Township reopened April 1, 2026, as The Hive and Honey Hill, a multi-use entertainment and dining complex. Owner Kimberly McCune-Gibson, a Kenston High School and Culinary Institute of America graduate who grew up attending the theater, oversaw a renovation she said cost “well over” $10 million. The complex houses event spaces, a music venue, a banquet hall, a scaled-down movie screening room and her gourmet food shop, the Hungry Bee, which she relocated from a nearby location where it operated for 13 years.

The Chagrin Cinema 6 opened November 26, 1989, with screenings of “The Little Mermaid” and other films, and at its peak operated 14 auditoriums. It closed in January 2023, part of a broader wave of cinema closures in Northeast Ohio following the COVID-19 pandemic. Other regional casualties included Regal theaters in Montrose, North Olmsted, Middleburg Heights and Green, Tower City Cinemas, and AMC’s Solon 16. The Hive retains a smaller screening space for movies, sporting events and other programming rather than a traditional multiplex format.

The new complex also includes a reimagining of Timberfire restaurant, which burned in 2005 and whose ruins occupied part of the property. McCune-Gibson’s husband, Jimmy Gibson, co-developed the project; the couple previously worked together at Moxie restaurant in Beachwood. The building’s exterior has been completely rebuilt with a rustic facade replacing the original neon-and-glass-block design.

“When your community loses its beloved movie theater, that takes the wind out of a lot of people,” McCune-Gibson said. “That’s why it was my goal … that we would make this a gathering house and a place for everyone.” The Hive is located on the site of the former Chagrin Cinema in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County. More information is available at thehivechagrin.com.

Source: Ideastream Public Media