Courtesy Sky Cinemas
Sky Cinemas 1
After celebrating the tenth anniversary of his Violet Crown Cinemas location in Santa Fe in May, founder-owner Bill Banowsky says, he knew the time had come for a rebrand. As of today, the theater shall henceforth be known as Sky Cinemas.
With bonafides including a stint as CEO for Landmark Cinemas and the founding of movie distribution company Magnolia Pictures, Banowsky founded Violet Crown in 2010, though he sold every non-Santa Fe location of the business—including branding—to Austin, Texas-based entertainment chain EVO Entertainment Group in 2023. That branding bit, Banowsky says, ultimately heralded the new name. Yes, he's the owner of Sky Coffee and Sky Railway, so there's an ecosystem a-brewing, but the time felt right for a name change.
"It's all Sky, that's true, but that wasn't the reason to change the name," Banowsky tells SFR. "We sold all of Violet Crown except for this location, and the only place we could use the brand was here."
Does that mean a Sky Cinemas expansion outside of New Mexico is in the air?
"We have no plans for anything right now," Banowsky says, "but anything can happen. As of right now, though, all of my business interests are in Santa Fe—be it the railroad, the coffee shop or Nuckolls Brewing. We are, however, expanding the brewery to Angel Fire and opening that July 4. It's all really just a function of...I want to do business in New Mexico. I love New Mexico and I like not traveling for business. This is our place. We found our place."
Closer to home, Sky Cinemas has already announced plans for a new multiplex on the Midtown Campus slated for the near future. But in the Railyard, Banowsky notes, the movie house formerly known as Violet Crown will hardly change at all for the general public.
"It'll still be the same friendly faces you've seen for the last 10 years greeting you and working there," Banowsky says. "Nothing changes. The ownership has not changed. Oh, but we'll have new seats this summer."
