The Oaks Mall Cinema Closing for 2-Month Renovation : Entertainment: Nearby merchants expect a slight decline in business while the multiplex shuts down for its face lift.

Teen-age pals Dusty Benedix and John Sanker huddled over the popcorn counter in The Oaks mall movie theater and conferred with their buddy, concession vendor Joe Grayshock.

They had just learned that the six-screen United Artists theater, with its orange-and-red swirled carpet and textured beige wallpaper, would be closed for a two-month renovation starting Monday.

That meant Joe would be out of a job. Thousand Oaks would be out its sole multiplex cinema. And, most pressing at the moment, Dusty and John would be out of their favorite after-school hangout.

“We come here every day, we got friends who work here, we’re mall rats,” Dusty explained in a single breath. “They don’t need to renovate this place. It’s got its own little atmosphere.”

But that atmosphere, like the movie theater, is about 16 years old. “Look at that wallpaper man,” Joe said, snickering from behind the glass counter. “It’s so ‘70s. When they redo it, it’s gonna be really nice.”

United Artists executives could not be reached for comment on their renovation plans. Employees at The Oaks theater, however, said the six screens would be wired to high-tech sound systems, the decor would be spruced up, and the cinema would be made more accessible to wheelchair users. They expect the theater to reopen on Nov. 18, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday rush.

During the hiatus, Thousand Oaks will boast only four screens: two at the Conejo Mann theater in the Janss Mall, and two at the independent Melody on Moorpark Road.

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Of course, just outside the city, movie theaters in Agoura Hills, Simi Valley and Camarillo will offer considerable variety. But some patrons said they would miss their hometown cinema.

“I don’t think they should touch this place,” Thousand Oaks resident Chris Franz said indignantly, as he paused to check out the movie posters by the ticket booth. “If they’re closing it down for two months, that’ll really put a damper on things.”

Dismissing the need for renovations, Franz added firmly: “I don’t care if my seat rocks or shakes or whatever. I just want to be able to see the movie.”

Camarillo resident Catherine Hopkins, who takes in a movie at The Oaks at least twice a month, agreed: “It looks fine to me,” she said. “As long as the floor’s clean, that’s all that matters.”

If Franz and Hopkins will miss the theater, The Oaks mall merchants will surely miss them--and the hundreds of other patrons who cruise by their shops on the way to the movies each week.

The owners of two mall restaurants, Olga’s Kitchen and Sweeney’s, said they usually draw about 10% of their evening business from movie-goers stopping by for a quick bite before the show. So both said they expected profits to dip slightly during the theater’s closure.

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Business at the mall has been so good, however, that neither restaurant manager expressed much concern. They predicted that the renovations will help the theater better woo patrons--hopefully, hungry patrons.

“A little setback will be worthwhile as long as we can keep those feet coming into the mall sometime or other,” restaurateur Bud Sweeney said.

The Oaks’ general manager, Barbara Teuscher, agreed that the movie theater was “past due for a renovation.” Although some food vendors might suffer losses, she expects the theater’s temporary shut-down to have little overall impact on mall revenues.

“I guess we’ll find out soon how much of an impact it will have,” Teuscher said. “But really, sales have been so phenomenally good lately that it’s hard for me to imagine any (profits) going down.”