A nascent nonprofit is angling for another revival of downtown Monterey’s Osio Theater.

Only a couple of decades ago, there were a lot of places in Monterey to see a movie. Not anymore. Locals seem to particularly miss Osio Theater, which enjoyed its golden era in the early 2000s, specializing in independent, foreign and arthouse films. With beloved Café Lumière in the building, Osio was a downtown fixture until it closed in 2020, seemingly for good. (Before that, there was the 2015 closure and a revival a year later. In 2019 Osio owners turned the business into a nonprofit, among other attempts to survive.)

Now, some fans of the Osio are ready to give it another go.

On Wednesday, Sept. 10, a retired teacher, Brant Wilkinson, organized a gathering at Los Laureles Lodge in Carmel Valley to form the Osio Arts Foundation and create a new board to apply for nonprofit status.

“Brant is the man of the hour and the heart and soul of this whole crazy scheme to get the Osio back open,” said Patrice Parks, also a retired teacher and now a founding board member.

Gerard Massimer, the president of Carmel-based company Glastonbury, which offers audio-visual services, became the board’s chair; he was previously on the Osio’s board. The seven-member board consists of several people previously involved with cinema or performing arts. “For me, the arts are not extra, they’re essential,” Parks said. “It’s what makes us human beings – to have [Osio Theater] go fallow seems criminal.”

Monterey Mayor Tyller Williamson was present at the meeting. “Carmel has a lot of venues and opportunities,” he said. “Monterey has to do better. I am excited to get rid of blight in the city.”

(Williamson declined to explicitly endorse the project since the City of Monterey owns the land under Osio Plaza.)

The building owner, San Jose-based Green Valley Corporation, was represented by Nicholas Greenup of Cushman & Wakefield, who attended as “an olive branch.” Green Valley representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

Wilkinson said he would like Osio to be not only a venue for movies, but also live performances, music and visual arts, “a place where our default is to say yes.” He added he’s been in touch with the Tribeca Film Festival. “We would have a West Coast version of Tribeca,” Wilkinson said.

While the movie theater would be nonprofit, the cafe space would be for-profit, with rental income and a percentage of profits going to the theater. (The space has only one liquor license, which could go either to the concession stand or the cafe.)

On Saturday, Sept. 20, the board and supporters toured Osio Theater, led by Greenup. Nobody could find a way to turn on all the electricity so members of the group had to shine flashlights from their phones to see inside the theaters. In the concession area, old popcorn was still in a box under the popcorn machine. Carmel restauratuer Ken Spilfogel joined, curious about the cafe area, but declined to open one refrigerator: “There could be a monster in there so I didn’t open it.” Still, he adds of being in the space: “It feels good.”

It will take time to revive Osio; talks with the landlord continue and a budget is being put together. “I know it’s a long shot but it has to start somewhere,” Wilkinson says. “We can do it only if the community stands behind us.”