Saul Trujillo
By Chris Murphy
Downtown Modesto changed forever in 1998 when the former Hotel Covell, Hotel Hughson were demolished to make way for 10th St Place. This was bold and controversial, but it saved downtown Modesto and today has really created community. Modesto’s 10th Street Plaza is home to many events presented by ModestoView like May the 4th, Music in the Plaza, and Rockin’ Holiday as well as DoMo 1st Fridays, Spirit of Giving and more. All of these have one thing in common, support from the Brenden Theatre and we are grateful.
Rising up from the literal “ashes” of the Strand Theatre, a new theater was built. We started ModestoView as “PlazaCam” a webcam that focused on the building of 10th St Place and our community watched it grow. Brenden Theatres, lead by Johnny Brenden was just what downtown needed. Johnny is the grandson of Ted Mann, who was a leader in theatres across the USA and even owned the famous Mann’s Chinese in Hollywood. The Brenden 18 debuted with an amazing neon tower and a marquee that commanded the street just like the theatres in the Golden Age, worthy of premiers and more and worthy of our downtown history.
Saul Trujillo has been at the helm of Brenden Modesto since it was a construction site. He supervised its creation and today, he runs our go-to theatre in Modesto. Brenden is an important part of downtown, drawing the most people into downtown than any other commercial business with 18 auditoriums. It has hosted many a premier and including a star-studded Star Wars that included Mark Hammill, Carol Channing and more. Saul is engaged in our community both with the theater and his family. He has always been a team player, and frankly, without Saul, many of our events would never happen and he has bailed out many an organizations. Let’s meet Brenden Theatres General Manager Saul Trujillo.
ModestoView: Why is going to the movies so special?
Saul Trujillo: There is something special about watching a movie on the big screen, with the laughing and gasping of the people around you, having movie theater popcorn, and escaping the daily monotonous to do lists of life. Sitting in a dark auditorium completely immersed in the movie going experience.
MV: What drew you to the movie business?
ST: I got my start in the movie business at 17, working as a ticket taker at Festival Cinemas, owned by Mann Theaters, on north McHenry Ave here in Modesto. I’d always been a huge fan of movies growing up, aso working at a theater felt like the perfect fit for me as a teenager.
MV: You have a unique ring-side seat to downtown, do you have a favorite moment?
ST: One of my favorite memories was helping prepare for the grand opening of Brenden Theatres in 1999. As an assistant manager at the time, I had the unique experience of watching a theater rise from the ground up- and with it, the downtown area began to come alive again. It was exciting to see a community start to rebuild around the magic of the movies.
MV: COVID was disastrous from movie theatres, how do you overcome this?
ST: COVID was an incredibly challenging time for our industry. Many small, independent theater chains like ours were forced to close their doors permanently. What helped us endure over a year of being shut down was strong leadership, smart decision-making, and the unwavering dedication of our team- from our corporate office to our staff members on the ground.
MV: With home theatres and streaming, what do you think theatres need to prosper?
ST: After COVID restrictions were lifted, families returned to theaters in droves. People were tired of being cooped up and streaming everything from their living rooms. They craved the shared experience an sense of normalcy. The demand was clear: audiences wanted to get out and enjoy movies the way they were meant to be seen. To meet the need, our industry needs to continue to innovate by investing in diverse formats, elevated food and beverage, and big comfortable recliners.
MV: It’s been a long time since movie theatres had traditional seats, you are all recliners, now, how has that changed your business?
ST: Recliners have transformed the movie theater experience. What started as a luxury feature has quickly become the new standard. Today most new theater builds are designed with recliners in mind. While they significantly reduce capacity, they have also elevated comfort and brought audiences back more frequently.
MV: What key suggestion do you have to make downtown Modesto thrive?
ST: In my opinion, we need to create a vibrant destination location out of Downtown Modesto. Create a bright and safe environment with it’s own unique identity. Create additional residential spaces that would then support additional retail and the already present great restaurants downtown.
MV: People don’t know this, but the Brenden draws hundreds of thousands of people downtown annually, how can the city better capitalize on what you are doing?
ST: Creating a dynamic entertainment hub around the theater would be a great approach. Goal would be to encourage visitors to extend their outing by offering a variety of experiences in one convenient location.
MV: What’s your favorite movie?
ST: The Godfather
MV: How cool was it to have Mark Hamill here for a Star Wars Premier?
ST: Meeting Mark Hamill and having him visit Modesto for the Star Wars premiere was absolutely a highlight for me. To welcome such an iconic figure in cinema to Downtown Modesto was definitely an unforgettable moment for me.
MV: Describe your ideal day?
ST: My ideal day would be watching my daughter play softball for her varsity high school team, followed by cheering on my son as plays baseball for his travel team. There’s nothing better than spending time with my family – it’s truly the perfect way to spend the day.
MV: Our signature question, Beatles or Stones?
ST: Let it Be, The Beatles.
I personally want to thank you for all you have done to help our events and I and our team are grateful for all you have done.
Learn more and get tix and movie showtimes and plan your downtown outing at www.brendentheatres.com<www.brendentheatres.com>
