By Onyx Staff | 04/03/2021
Reopening Safety Measures and Clarifications
First and foremost, a big Thank You to everyone who participated in our reopening survey, we appreciate your feedback! It showed us that most of you are interested in hearing about the many safety measures we are implementing.
Before we dive in it is important to note that whether we are providing private rentals or we’re reopen to the public we will still follow all state and local regulations. These guidelines were created to help keep our community safe and we believe in strict compliance with these rules to keep Nevada County moving in the right direction.
Private Rentals
Feel like royalty with the theater to yourself! Due to extenuating circumstances we will soon offer our private rentals to the community at cost. $250 will cover our overhead for the film rental and the staffing we require. Since we still have to meet state guidelines regarding capacity during private rentals that means a maximum of seven people can be part of your private party as long as we are in the red tier, and fourteen people when we move into the orange or yellow tier. It is important to note that our alcohol license still requires all attendees to be 21+. As for what films are available, you will be able to make a choice from a list of films that we have obtained the right to show. Masks must be worn at all times while in the lobby but can be taken off in the screening room if your group chooses to do so. We will have the complete guidelines on our website, along with movie choices and available dates, by late April.
Mask Requirements and Capacity Limits
As stated above, we will always comply with state and local regulations and guidelines regarding mask requirements and theater capacity. When we reopen to the general public masks will be required in our screening rooms when not eating or drinking and at all times in the lobby while the guidelines are in place. All staff will follow these guidelines as well. While in the red tier, we can only allow seven people per screening room. In the orange and yellow tier we can accommodate fourteen people per screening room. When we reopen we will be transitioning to reserved seating. This means that when you purchase your ticket online or at the theater we will have a map of available seats for you to choose from. This way we can ensure that all groups will remain distanced when seated.
Updates to our Air Filtration and HVAC System
We are in the process of updating our HVAC system to increase fresh airflow from the outside and installing MERV13 filters. We will also have air filtration devices placed in each screening room. Before reopening, details regarding all of our upgrades in this area will be posted on our website.
Touchless When Possible and Antimicrobial Films When Not
We are updating our sales system to be touchless – no more handing over your credit card to be scanned – and we will be offering Apple Pay and other Mobile Wallet options. We have also installed motion sensor light switches in the bathroom, as well as motion-activated sink faucets and soap dispensers. On all of the surfaces that we can not automate we will be applying an antimicrobial film that utilizes silver ions to keep the surface germ-free. This film does not sanitize your hands when you touch it so we will also have hand sanitizer available throughout the lobby and directly inside our screening room doors.
Cleaning Between Screenings
While a perfectly clean theater has always been our goal at The Onyx, we are stepping up our game even more. In between each show we will spend extra time thoroughly cleaning the screening rooms and focusing on high-touch areas. We will also increase our bathroom disinfecting frequency.
Going Forward
In the past year, nothing has remained constant. There are ever-changing variants of COVID-19 arising, as well as new updates to state and local guidelines from scientists addressing how to keep everyone safe. While we are sharing these safety measures now we recognize that some policies may change before our reopening. We thank you for your understanding as we navigate the guidelines, and know that we may make changes in the future.
From all of the staff at The Onyx, we want to say that we truly appreciate your support during this extremely difficult time and we look forward to welcoming you back through our doors very soon.