An independent cinema in Whitley Bay that started off "showing DVDs and blu-rays" on a single screen is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
Now, Jam Jar Cinema on Park Avenue has three screens, hundreds of regular customers, and is set to be the operator of a new flagship building in the re-development of Blyth Town Centre. It was even named the best small business in the whole of the UK in 2020 and its co-founder Dan Ellis was awarded a British Empire Medal for his work as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Honours.
In its decade-long spell in Whitley Bay, Jam Jar has welcomed half-a-million guests to its screenings, which include everything from the latest Hollywood blockbusters, to indie dramas which champion British story-telling. Recently, Barbie became its best-selling film ever, however, it aims to offer a totally different experience to visiting a multiplex cinema, with co-founder Dan Ellis claiming Jam Jar is a warm hug rather than a corporate handshake.
Since Dan opened it in 2013, alongside co-founders Stephen Fairly and William Smith, the cinema has become a cornerstone of the community and a driver in the revitalisation of Whitley Bay, which was named one of the best places to live in the UK in 2023. However, when Dan and a few friends got together to the cinema, it was a very different landscape - with 19 people turning up to a screening of Gladiator.
Dan told ChronicleLive: "We opened this place because Whitley Bay used to be a really sad town, it was wallowing in that old stag and hen failed night time economy. Nobody had any pride in the place anymore.
"We were one of the first businesses to invest in the night-time economy. We didn't realise it at the time, but we became almost one of the flag bearers (for Whitley Bay).
"They used to assess whether a town was healthy if it had a Marks and Spencer's, but now it's if it has independent cinemas, shops, bars and restaurants and Whitley Bay is absolutely thriving. It's a completely different night out, it's a better town, and you wouldn't have imagined that ten years ago."
Jam Jar was born when Whitley Bay Playhouse became a theatre only and stopped showing films. By 2017, Jam Jar was playing four shows a day every week, with Dan claiming every single screening was sold out.
In 2019, it expanded into what it is now, adding a lift and making the building accessible. However, the following year the Coronavirus pandemic hit, which Dan described as "really, really scary."
He said: "We'd spent a fortune, had an incredible Christmas in 2019, January was heaving, February was really good and then the pandemic hit. It was really, really scary because we thought we were going bust for ever.
"It was really important for us to open as soon as we were able to when restrictions lifted because we know if people come to the pictures, they're likely to go to a restaurant."
After riding out the Coronavirus pandemic, the future of Jam Jar seems secure, though Dan admits that the Hollywood writers and directors strike is causing a little uncertainty.
Dan said: "Our big focus at the moment is keeping going, it's a bit uncertain at the moment with the writers and directors strike over in the US. One of the really good things is we've paid back all of the debt from the pandemic, we're thriving as a business, we're investing in staff, we're a living wage employer and it's a lovely place to work and an awesome team of people to work with.
"We keep hearing cinema's dead, everyone's streaming, everyone's illegally watching things on dodgy boxes, but now it's less about going to see the film and it's about having a night out. In the last few years, cinema has become more affordable and it's probably one of the most affordable out of home entertainments you can do."
Dan hopes that by replicating the business model for the second Jam Jar Cinema in Blyth, it will bring similar success to Northumberland, with the county currently only having one full-time independent cinema, the Forum in Hexham.
He continued: "(Blyth) is basically scaling this up as a business model, it'll be three screens but they're all a bit larger, and a food offering there so a proper kind of cafe. We're putting a small events space in there as well, it's going to be an amazing kind of once-in-a-lifetime change for Blyth, but it's a big scary project.
"But you know, we're ready to rise to the challenge and all the staff has stepped up so customers here haven't noticed when I'm doing the development work on that!"
For now, they're celebrating their 10th anniversary with North Tyneside Cinema Week and National Cinema Day. And at the end of September, they will screen Ken Loach's new film; The Old Oak; where viewers will be encouraged to bring donations to support the local food bank.
There's also a big staff night out in Whitley Bay. Dan finished: "The biggest culture change in Whitley Bay is that everybody gets supporting local.
"We wouldn't be here if we weren't adopted by local people and it's lovely that they really care and value us as a place to spend time. It's magic that people see Jam Jar as not even part of, but the heart of the community.
"For a derelict little cinema above a job centre to become a tourist attraction and of regional importance is amazing and we never thought it would have happened!"
