The Golden State Theatre co-owner riffs on the booking process and the local entertainment scene.

When Lori Lochtefeld was in high school in San Francisco, she had access to the symphony, theater, ballet, and she played flute and piano. But as an adult, she went into business, as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch before starting a commercial insurance company and a real estate firm. In 2008, she met her now-husband Eric Lochtefeld at a San Francisco restaurant called Bong Su. He had come up in concert promotion, putting on shows by Primus, Black Eyed Peas, Run DMC, No Doubt – he even had a hand in creating the Vans Warped Tour. Now, together, they own and operate (among other properties) two revival theaters built by the architectural firm Reid & Reid: the 1,200-seat Fox Theater in Redwood City, which they bought in 2010, and the 999-seat Golden State Theatre in Monterey, which they bought almost one year ago.

Weekly: Did [former Golden State Theatre owner] Warren Dewey give you guys any advice?

Lochtefeld: No. I had one interaction with Warren – the initial conversation about us buying. He wanted to see our operation in Redwood City and we invited him. We dealt with his broker.

How did you know that you and Eric would work well together in business?

We didn’t know. Both of us split up tasks. I do the marketing and help on operations and box office; he focuses on the finance, running the shows and logistics.

How do you find the shows that you book?

The agencies send out availabilities for artists, and booking agents will call and say, “We have Pat Benatar and she has these three weeks available.” We’ll find out how much they’re asking. We look at prior stats from other venues, then we put in an offer for that show.

How has turnout been?

All the shows so far have performed well. I think it’s partly the artists we’re bringing in, and the other part is that the community wants to see the theater succeed. They’re supporting it.

Is it scary to be so invested in something like this?

It isn’t scary because we’ve done it once, in Redwood City. The Fox was scary because we didn’t know. Now we’re more confident in our choices.

Where do you stay when you’re here?

We’re planning to purchase [a house], but we haven’t gotten around to it. Maybe sometime early next year. We decided we want to raise a family, in a year or so, in Monterey County.

What do you do during the shows?

We do everything everyone else does. We work the box office. We pick up the phone and sell tickets to customers. We’re ticket-takers, greeters, sometimes we’re ushers. We stand at the door and thank people for coming. That’s when we get to hear feedback, like people telling stories of their first dates, or how they used to go to the movie theater for 25 cents.

Has your business background helped?

Definitely. In both theaters I represented ourselves in the transactions. I also helped crunch the numbers to make sure it works financially. And I understand insurance so I can make sure we’re covered properly.

What are some sneak previews you can tell me about?

We booked Seinfeld. We have him coming Aug. 13. Two shows, 7pm and 9:30pm, enough time to reset the venue for the second show. It’s going on presale [this] week to our database of customers.

Have you gone to other people’s shows here?

I saw [Pacific Repertory Theatre’s] The Full Monty. I thought it was hilarious. I went to MPC’s production of The Jungle Book. I thought they did a really great job with it.

My Fair Lady is coming from the Fox to Golden State Theatre this weekend. How’s the show?

Beautiful. Beautiful costumes, dresses, umbrellas.

Why only two dates for it?

We look at the show, the demand for the show, and we adjust. We know Les Mis is one for the ages. My Fair Lady hasn’t been done for a long time. West Side Story is like Les Mis – it will be for two weeks because it can bear that. Summer shows we do a little less time because people are away or their kids are at camp, and people love to be outside in the summer so you’re also competing with outdoor concerts and festivals. We take all those things into consideration to take a better calculated risk.