LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Out with the old, and in with the new— is an age-old saying and a perfect way, to sum up, what's happening at the Breckenridge Village Shopping Center in Little Rock.
Anthony Valinoti explained that he's in the latter category— part of the "new."
"I never in my wildest dreams would imagine that a place like this would be offered to me," Valinoti, owner of Deluca's Pizzeria in Hot Springs, said.
He may have just one location in Hot Springs, but that's changing soon.
He'll soon be moving into the space Greenhaws used to occupy, and opening up a second Deluca's location.
"We want to provide that same kind of positivity that they brought to this neighborhood for so many years," he explained.
On the "out with the old" side of things, we learned on Wednesday that long-time staple, Regal Cinema, was shutting its doors.
"I think there's just hope and optimism now in this part of Rodney Parham that, you know, better things are coming to the neighborhood," Valinoti said. "Hopefully drive better people, better ideas, better thoughts into this area."
Jim Keet is part of the ownership group that owns Breckenridge Village, and he explained that change is tough.
He admits that many have memories of what the shopping center used to be.
"It's coming together extremely well, and it's going to be a bright future for Breckenridge," Keet said. "Even though this could be perceived as a setback, we don't look at it that way, we look at it as we're going to be bigger and better than ever before."
As for what's replacing the movie theater, Keet couldn't share the exact plans but did share that they have a short list of candidates which includes other movie theater companies.
Though there are some we do know that plan on moving into the complex.
Deluca's, The Root Cafe, Waldo's Chicken and Beer, and Flyway Brewing are some of the places that will soon occupy Breckenridge Village.
"People have great memories from here in the past, and what we're determined to do is bring those great memories back for future generations," Keet said.
So while the lights may be going down on the past, those moving in are ready for the future.
"Just going to add to the great dynamic of this area, I think it's a wonderful area as well," Valinoti said. "There's a lot of traffic, and it just needs a little boost."