ZGL Theatres

ZGL Theatres is a soon-to-be-defunct American movie theater chain founded in 2015 by Zachary, Grace and Lexia creator Greg Daniels. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, each location plays Zachary, Grace and Lexia films in case regular movie theaters are too crowded for them to play in. The first location opened on December 18, 2015 in Los Angeles, California and the final location opened on July 26, 2024 in Buford, Georgia.
The chain is also known for many Zachary, Grace and Lexia characters appearing on their restroom signs throughout every location in place of the normal stick figures. For more information, click here.
The chain is set to go defunct on July 8, 2025.
To see all the locations (including former ones), click here.
==Details==
​Founded
December 18, 2015; 7 years ago in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
​Founder
Greg Daniels
Successor
Zachary & Meredith Bortz's
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
Number of locations
138
==History==
On June 6, 2015, Zachary, Grace and Lexia creator Greg Daniels thought the franchise should have its own chain of either restaurants, arcades, stores, amusement parks or movie theaters. He then thought that with so many films from the franchise, a movie theater chain was best in case regular movie theater chains like Regal Cinemas and AMC Theatres are too crowded for them to play in. The chain would be called ZGL (an acronym for Zachary, Grace and Lexia) Theatres. The chain is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, replacing the headquarters for Zachary, Grace and Lexia video game developer Stick Feline Games, which had moved to Glendale, California.
On June 19, 2015, it was announced that the first location in Los Angeles, California, which underwent construction that same day, would open on December 18. Construction was completed on October 16.
On March 17, 2020, all locations closed temporarily due to the closing of theaters worldwide caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in six locations delaying their opening and the Downingtown, Pennsylvania location halting construction one week before they were supposed to finish. On July 31, 2020, once theaters started reopening, all locations reopened with safety protocols and the six locations that were delayed had their openings rescheduled. On August 2, 2020, the Downingtown, Pennsylvania location resumed construction, which was completed three days later on August 5.
On June 8, 2022, it was announced that the locations with Meredith Bortz on their restrooms would close in September 2022 to strip her from the chain due to the Meredith Bortz controversy before the Avalon, New Jersey location finishes construction on October 1 and gets their original restroom signs of Meredith and the black and white spies replaced. On July 10, 2022, it was announced that the twelve locations announced for closure would remain open as the controversy had ended. The replacing of the restroom signs at the Avalon, New Jersey location was cancelled as a result.
On November 28, 2022, it was announced that the locations with Zachary and Meredith Bortz on their restrooms would close on January 8-14, 2023 to strip Meredith from the chain due to her no longer wanting to contact her human friends and her decision to never return to California after moving away to New Jersey. They would also strip Zachary from the chain due to the resignations of him and Meredith from the Robot Hell on Earth Team, his resignation from the Crime Crew and the disbanding of the Lunch Club and that the Avalon, New Jersey location would be delayed indefinitely from its December 2, 2022 opening as they didn't want to cancel it. On December 7, 2022, it was announced that the thirty-four locations announced for closure will remain open for the chain to take Meredith Bortz back as she would move back to California and regain contact with her human friends after regretting the decision to end human friend contact and never returning to California and changing her mind about moving to New Jersey. They would also take Zachary back as well as he would forgive Meredith for ending contact with him in such a regretful way. Nine days later, it was announced that the opening of the Avalon, New Jersey location would be rescheduled for December 23, 2022.
On November 10, 2023, the chain announced that they would no longer close or delay all locations with Zachary and Meredith Bortz on their restrooms due to the characters now living together as Zachary moved in with Meredith. As revealed in Meredith's New Jerseyan Life: Full Stream, because the Crime Crew and Extreme Gut Busters are not really teams, two events would happen on January 2, 2024:
#Since the Crime Crew and Extreme Gut Busters are the only two what everyone calls them "teams" left after the retirements of Robot Hell on Earth and the Lunch Club and that they had been deemed useless groups even for the human members, the animal members of both teams combined would be executed under the order of the FBI and the human members of both teams combined would form a girl group called the Vacation Chicks.
#All animal members of both the Crime Crew (Stormwash Spawner, Sherlock Sheahomes, Jayfeather, Ropeslinger, Doodle and Ravenpaw) and Extreme Gut Busters (Thonglaw, Tallstar and Earth Slugger) combined would have all their locations get announced for closure or get delayed in order for them as well as the other characters with them to get replaced before their former locations reopen at a later date as they would be stripped from the chain due to all nine characters getting executed by the FBI.
On November 22, 2023, the chain announced that while Ravenpaw would still be executed on January 2 as planned as well as have all his locations get announced for closure on that same day, the executions for the eight other animals on January 2 would be delayed, meaning their locations would get announced for closure or get delayed that same day as well. The following new dates for the eight other executions are as follows:
*Stormwash Spawner, Sherlock Sheahomes, Jayfeather, Ropeslinger, Thonglaw, Tallstar and Earth Slugger: February 8
*Doodle: February 29
The reason for the delayed executions for the eight other animals was to execute them near the completion of construction on their upcoming locations (if they had any) and to have them guest appear in at least one episode of season 12 of Meredith's New Jerseyan Life.
On November 30, 2023, the chain announced that all locations would be replaced by its successor, an entertainment center chain known as Zachary & Meredith Bortz's starting in 2025. Closed locations would be demolished, rebuilt and reimagined as Zachary & Meredith Bortz's starting in fall 2024. The chain also said that it would close all remaining locations starting in 2025 for them to also get demolished, rebuilt and reimagined into Zachary & Meredith Bortz's.
On December 6, 2023, the chain announced that all locations with the 16 deceased characters (Ava, Courtney, Wilber, Daffodil, Me-Mow, Trish, Eric, Luke, Vrooom, Ralph, Scar, Rocky, Banana Joe, Clay, Kitten and Tulip) on their restrooms, since they were no longer needed, would close in preparation for the opening of the first Zachary & Meredith Bortz's location in fall 2024. The closing dates would not be announced until January 2, 2024, when Ravenpaw's execution happens.
On December 15, 2023, ahead of Ravenpaw's execution on January 2, 2024, the chain announced that the 70 locations with at least one of the 16 deceased characters without any of the set-to-be-executed characters would close on December 26-30, 2023.
On January 2, 2024, the day of Ravenpaw's execution, the chain announced that the Bakersfield, California location would close on January 21.
On February 8, 2024, the day of Stormwash Spawner, Sherlock Sheahomes, Jayfeather, Ropeslinger, Thonglaw, Tallstar and Earth Slugger's executions, the chain announced that 20 locations with at least one of the seven aforementioned characters without Ravenpaw, Doodle or any of the 16 deceased characters before them and Ravenpaw from the preparations would close the last two Sundays of February 2024.
On February 29, 2024, the day of Doodle's execution, the chain announced that the Bisbee, Arizona, Bismarck, North Dakota, Lakeport, California, Lewiston, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah locations would close on March 10.
On March 15, 2024, the chain announced that 22 locations with any of the 25 deceased characters would close every Monday of April 2024.
On May 6, 2024, the chain announced that starting from May 2024 to June 2025, they would close at least one location a month to make way for the Zachary & Meredith Bortz's locations replacing them.
On May 13, 2024, the chain announced that they had extended the make way closings by a month to July 2025. They also announced that they would go defunct on July 8, 2025, just one day after the last three locations in Amherst, New York, Burlington, New Jersey and Johnstown, Pennsylvania close and have Stick Feline Games move back into their old headquarters. Closing dates for the remaining locations, including upcoming ones, would be announced later in the week.
On July 26, 2024, the final location opened in Buford, Georgia. In total, the chain opened 270 locations from 2015 to 2024.
==Location construction, themes and layout==
Constructions on locations take four months to complete and they would open two months later.
The logo on each location consists of one or more male characters wearing yellow sweaters with green stripes and red hats with a yellow star and a green underside to the brim. Locations that have one character on their logo have them doing Chuck E. Cheese's thumbs-up pose from 1995-2004. Though, some locations may not have characters on the logo. For more information, click here.
Certain locations are themed to certain video games, television series or films whether or not they're related to the franchise.
Locations have a food court the same size as a shopping mall's food court on the left side of the building as well as an arcade the same size as a Dave & Buster's location on the right.
In the lobby, people pay for their ticket and food and drink to see a movie in one of the auditoriums. They can also pay for their ticket online.
==Restroom layouts and appearances==
Restrooms are located in the food court, lobby and arcade in each location.
Locations either have the men's and women's restroom entryways as walk-ins or through doors. The unisex restrooms always have doors on them for privacy reasons.
Every area of each location has either one or two men's, women's and unisex restrooms to include a certain group or team of 3-6 characters or a couple or duo on the signs, though a few locations have more than 6 characters.
The signs used in most locations depict a character in a serious or aggressive facial impression holding their fists out on the sign outside the restroom and another sign depicts the same character facing the direction of the entryway while other locations have a character doing something else.
While unisex restrooms keep their name in most locations, the men's and women's restrooms have a different name in some locations. For example, in the Lebanon, Pennsylvania location, the men's restrooms with Zachary Bortz on them are named "Bucks" while the women's restrooms with Ainsley on them are named "Does". Some locations or certain areas of others might not have wording on the signs, just the characters.
==Impacts==
To learn more about these impacts on the chain, click their respective links below.
===COVID-19 pandemic===
The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the opening of six locations and halted the construction of one of those locations.
===2022 impact of Meredith Bortz===
Due to the Meredith Bortz controversy, 12 locations were threatened with closure.
===2023 Zachary & Meredith Close-a-Thon===
Due to wanting to strip Meredith from the chain due to her no longer wanting to contact her human friends and her decision to never return to California after moving away to New Jersey as well as also stripping Zachary from the chain due to the resignations of him and Meredith from the Robot Hell on Earth Team, his resignation from the Crime Crew and the disbanding of the Lunch Club, 34 locations were threatened with closure while 1 location delayed its opening.
===2024 Zachary & Meredith Bortz's Preparations===
Due to the 16 deceased characters (not the characters scheduled to get executed) no longer being needed, 70 locations closed while 2 locations delayed their openings in preparation for the opening of the first Zachary & Meredith Bortz's location in fall 2024.
===2024 Animal Executions===
Due to the Crime Crew and Extreme Gut Busters being deemed useless groups even for the human members, causing the animal members of both teams combined to be executed under the order of the FBI, 26 locations closed while 27 locations delayed their openings.
===2024 Deceased Character Removals===
Due to 25 characters, deceased or executed, getting stripped from the chain in preparation for the opening of the first Zachary & Meredith Bortz's location in fall 2024, 22 locations closed.
===2025 Zachary & Meredith Bortz's Make Ways===
To make way for Zachary & Meredith Bortz's locations replacing them, at least one location will close each month starting in May 2024 and ending in July 2025.
==Trivia==
*The chain is inspired by the Chuck E. Cheese and Helen Henny restroom signs and their individual posters in the Tux and Avenger Eras (Mr. Munch, Jasper T. Jowls or Pasqually would either appear alongside Chuck E. or replace him on the men's restroom in some locations) appearing on or outside the restroom entryways in a lot of Chuck E. Cheese's locations during the Phase 2-4 eras. The franchise wanted to ditch the stick figures in favor of the show's characters in a very similar concept.
*Originally, anytime a ZGL Theatre would close permanently, the characters who were originally on the location's restrooms would be replaced before the location reopened at a later date.
**However, on November 30, 2023, it was announced that the closed locations would instead be replaced by a new location of the chain's successor, Zachary & Meredith Bortz's.
Category:Zachary, Grace and Lexia