Morro Bay’s Iconic Bay Theater Back in Business

MORRO BAY — The Bay Theatre in Morro Bay is back in business after a challenging year of closures due to COVID-19 restrictions.

As we reported back in January, Mary Lou Jannopoulos has owned the Bay Theater for the past 25 years. Her late-husband Jim originally bought the Bay in 1973 from Ruth and Ted Morris. Jannopoulos said at the time she was heartbroken over the decision to sell and said she held out as long as she could during the pandemic closures that started last March and brought her business to a screeching halt.

So with the pandemic, the film industry changes, and increased employee costs, the Jannopoulos Family said they were ready to move on.

The Bay Theater is listed at $1.5 million; reports say that there is an interested buyer; however, Jannopoulos initially said it would only be sold if it would remain a theater.

For now, due to the move into the Red Tier, under the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the Theater is open and ready for the community to come and watch some of their favorite films.