Denver’s Chez Artiste arthouse movie theater will close permanently on Aug. 8, surprised patrons learned on Friday night. The decision by Landmark Theatres to close the three-screen cinema at 4150 E. Amherst Ave., comes just two weeks after the company closed the 100-year-old Esquire Theatre at 590 Downing St. 

At the time of the Esquire closing, Landmark President Kevin Holloway said in a statement: “Landmark’s renowned Mayan Theatre, Chez Artiste, and The Landmark at Greenwood Village will remain open and continue to serve the area.”

But Chez Artiste employees were notified Friday and instructed to place the following note on the front door Saturday:

“The Chez Artiste will be closing permanently. Our last day of operation will be 8/8/2024. It has been our pleasure to serve you! Please visit us at: Landmark Mayan Theater and Landmark Greenwood Village.”

That message was also shown on screen before each of Saturday’s screenings.

“It’s incredibly sad. Special places don’t seem to be valued in this world,” a Friday attendee told The Denver Gazette, asking not to be identified. “I’ve always thought of the Chez as a little jewel.”

Gena Waterman, who considers herself a superfan of the Chez Artiste, said flatly of Landmark ownership: “They lied to all of us. They promised they were keeping the Chez Artiste open and not selling it. They are liars.”

The back-to back closings caused immediate concern that the two-screen Mayan Theatre at 110 Broadway might be in danger of being shuttered next. But that building was designated as a historical landmark in early 1984, so the building cannot be easily repurposed.

Jolee Harston, part of a grassroots movement that was formed to try to save the Esquire, blasted Landmark ownership on social media, saying, “You are ruining Denver’s cinematic history. Shame on you.”

She further pointed out that “this is also devastating for Denver’s disabled and senior film lovers, as the Chez is one of the only fully accessible theaters.”

The Chez Artiste opened under its original name University Hills 2 on Nov. 3, 1972 — with Tom Laughlin in “Billy Jack” and Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” — adjacent to the University Hills Shopping Center in south Denver. According to the website cinematreasures.org, an additional auditorium was created from a neighboring storefront in the 1980s, making it a three-screen complex.

The cinemas were obtained by Landmark in 1992 and renamed the Chez Artiste. (Some still affectionaltely refer to it as “The Cheesy Artist.”) It stands along with the Mayan and Sie FilmCenter as among the last remaining homes for independent and foreign-language cinema in Denver.

“This feels like a slap in the face of movie-lovers to have both the Esquire and the Chez Artiste close down,” said moviegoer Mike Szillagyi.

Alexandra Radcliffe agreed. “There will be nowhere to see unusual or non-Hollywood movies anymore,” she said. “I traveled clear across town to the Chez Artiste to see special movies – and even preferred that location to see first-run movies because of the friendly staff and good atmosphere.”

It is not yet known what Landmark’s plans are for the property. The Esquire will be repurposed for “upscale office, restaurant and retail uses,” building owners announced in March.

Waterman says she attended three movies at the Chez Artiste just last week. “I’ve been going there as often as I can for years and purposely spend money on concessions,” she said. “I’ve taken friends there to watch classic Hitchcock movies, and I won a Cary Grant poster last year on my birthday.”

She so appreciates the longtime staff at the Chez Artiste that “I gave them little goofy Christmas presents last year,” she said. And in return, “they told me they would adopt my dogs if anything ever happened to me. I was in the intensive care for almost a week in May, and I consider the Chez Artiste my saving place to go after almost dying.”

Waterman went on to say that by closing the theater, and offering both employees and patrons just one week of notice, “They are breaking a lot of people’s hearts. The employees definitely deserve better treatment after putting their hearts and souls into making it a beloved little corner of our worlds.”

If the schedule is not adjusted, the Chez Artiste will close screening the films “Coup!,” “Touch,” “Widow Clicquot” and “Thelma.”

Landmark Theatres became part of Cohen Media Group in 2018. The Denver Gazette attempted to reach company officials directly beginning late Friday night but had not heard back as of Saturday evening.

On Saturday afternoon, exiting filmgoers offered condolences to theater staff as if at a memorial service. Which, in a sense, this was. One said she wished that she had brought flowers. For most, this was goodbye. But not for all.

As she left, Denver’s Sheila McNally told an employee that she will be back tomorrow. “And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that.”

Until there are no more days after that.