Arcada Theatre Gets Major Redesign During Coronavirus Lockdown

ST. CHARLES, IL — The financial impacts of the coronavirus have been "devastating" for the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, but the state’s mandated lockdown provided owner Ron Onesti with the time he needed to revamp the 94-year-old building into a downtown gem for decades to come.

Like most businesses, the Arcada Theatre was forced to close in March due to the pandemic. But Onesti has he has "taken as much advantage" of the shutdown as he could by finally renovating the property as he had long dreamed.

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Onesti said he assumed the renovations would’ve been completed during a natural break in the theater’s schedule, but when the business closed its doors this spring, his desire to get the project done "intensified," Onesti told Patch.

Crews took the building "down to the brick" before nearly every inch of the theater was renovated, Onesti said. When customers return — not for several months, at least — they will see an almost entirely redesigned facility with new features, amenities and more than a dozen new restrooms.

"I’ve tried to maximize this opportunity to the fullest potential so that when we do reopen, we’re the biggest thing around," Onesti said.

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The Starbucks that once operated on the theater’s first floor is being replaced by a new restaurant called Rock ‘N Za, serving up pizza from a wood-fire oven, salads, hot dogs, snacks and ice cream. A restaurant called Rock ‘N Ravioli will also be housed on the first floor, with a Venetian-style café outside.

A full-service bar called the "Bar-Cada" is taking the place of the former RockStock store on the theater’s first floor, where there will also be video gaming.

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Workers have replaced the entire stage and added enhanced power and lighting to help out the stage crew. The theater floor was refinished and the chairs have been replaced with more comfortable seats, Onesti said.

Though almost everything at the theater is being reimagined and revamped, the hundreds of celebrity signatures — from Frank Sinatra and Paul Anka to Don Rickles and DEVO — will remain on entertainers’ dressing room walls.

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The huge renovation project was a way of repaying customers’ loyalty for the past century, even during the many times it was just as hot or cold in the theater as it was outside, Onesti said.

Onesti hopes construction and renovation projects at the St. Charles theater will be complete by Labor Day, though the theater will likely not be welcoming customers back that soon.

Onesti said he is less anxious about the theater’s current situation than the one it could face in the first few months after it reopens. Onesti worries the theater could be hit hard in the period after reopening — and all the expenses that come with it — and before a majority of customers again feel comfortable attending a show with a crowd.

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"That’s when my pandemic starts," Onesti said, adding it will be "incredible" to once again look out at a full crowd at the theater.

There is currently "no timeline" for the theater to reopen to the public with current safety restrictions making it impossible, Onesti said. During phase 4 of the state’s Restore Illinois plan, up to 50 people can gather for any reason, limiting the theater to less than 6 percent of its capacity.

"The whole 50-person thing and all that ... minimalized capacities; it just doesn’t work here," Onesti said.

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Onesti said it is unlikely Arcada Theatre will reopen before Illinois moves to phase 5. The state cannot enter phase 5 until a highly effective coronavirus treatment or vaccine are widely available.

When the theater gets the go-ahead to reopen, there will be a grand celebration, Onesti promised.