EUNICE, La. (KLFY) -- The Queen Cinema movie theater that has been in Eunice since 1937 was bought by four siblings from Eunice: Linus Jordan, Marcia Jordan Gordon, Roxanne Jordan Dukes and James "Peaches" Jordan.

When the Queen Cinema was listed for sale in June, many were worried it would close, but the family who bought it plans to keep the movie theater open and revitalize it.

"A lot of people were nervous thinking that it would close, but they wanted to keep it open as a theater," Dukes said. "It's the third oldest (movie theater) in the history of Louisiana, so we wanted to keep that going."

The siblings want others in town to experience the movie theater that they grew up going to.

"This is the first place we saw a movie with our parents. This is the place where many of us went on our first date. This is a place where we shared movies with nieces, nephews and grandchildren," Linus Jordan said. "So, there's a sentimental value for us."

They plan to add value to the theater, already making improvements by adding more concession options and making cosmetic upgrades. They now have 35 different candy options, a new ICEE machine and chili dogs.

Next, they plan to fix the roof and a broken movie projector, eventually completely renovating the theater.

"We plan to bring her back to her former glory," Linus Jordan said. "She is a cornerstone of entertainment here in town. We want to give our community something they can be proud of again."

Their community is the reason they decided to buy the building.

"Our biggest thing is the community. I know that sounds repetitive, and I know it sounds maybe cliche," James "Peaches" Jordan said.

"But if we can provide something where the kids can get off the street, if we can provide something where the adults can go to on the weekends when they don't have much to do, where they don't have to leave our community, and we can provide something where they can come here, have a good time. That's our biggest goal," he continued.

James "Peaches" Jordan said buying the Queen was his sister Roxanne's idea.

"To be honest with you, yes we are doing it as a group, but we're kind of supporting our sister Roxie," He said. "She looked at it, and it was kind of like a goal of hers. Then we all got involved, and we all got excited."

Roxanne said she saw it for sale on Facebook.

"I'm a big kid, so I sent it out to them almost as a little joke, but hoping inside that we would do it." Dukes said. "And they said, let's do it. So, we did, and we're excited."

The movie theater is still open. The siblings said it has remained open during the transition from the former owner.

The family said they want to be involved in the community, incorporating feedback and participating in events.

"The biggest thing is to for everybody to know that we are open and for them to be patient with us in the transition," James "Peaches" Jordan said.

"We want to be able to change and be better. As we know, if you take a business and you try to make it better, it does take time and finances. So, just be patient with us, and we promise we'll do our best to get it the best we can," he continued.

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