Theater Retrofitting Makes Laguna Niguel Firm a Star

It has become a survival of the fittest for theaters across the country. Megaplexes with their booming sound systems and stadium seating are moving in on almost every major retail corner, stealing customers from older theaters.

This intense competition has become a profitable niche for Laguna Niguel-based Birtcher Construction Services. It retrofits theaters, some of which are only a few years old, with the popular new stadium seating.

“How can a theater with standard seating compete with a new theater down the street where even the smallest child can have an unobstructed view of the screen?” said Andrew Youngquist, president of the company.

Since its spinoff from MBK Construction a year ago, 42-employee Birtcher has garnered $75 million worth of theater construction contracts across the country. And Youngquist says there’s still a lot of room for the company to grow. Of the 27,000 movie screens in the U.S., about 20,000 don’t feature the new stadium seating.

To create the new look, Birtcher and its partner, engineer DMJM, build a bleacher-type frame for the new seats in each theater. The process takes 10 days and costs about $75,000--a pretty penny for small theater operators.

Still, Youngquist said, it’s better than the alternative--empty theaters.

Melinda Fulmer covers real estate for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7832 and at melinda.fulmer@latimes.com