Former Gray Duck Theater in Rochester gets new owners, name, mission

ROCHESTER – When Maggie Panetta painted the mural on the back of the Gray Duck Theater three years ago, she didn't imagine she would one day run the venue.

That's where she and fiancé Nathaniel Nelson find themselves now. The couple, who are better known for organizing concerts and music festivals in southeast Minnesota, are preparing to take on their next artistic venture as art-house cinema owners.

Panetta and Nelson, both 27, took over Gray Duck, Rochester's one-screen movie theater, earlier this year. They plan to rename and open Pop's Art Theater, named in honor of Nelson's father, at some point next month. Their goal: to start playing movies before they get married in April.

"We take risks, and we've been taking risks for years now," Panetta said. "But I also think our professional backgrounds have really helped to build that foundation for what we're going to do here."

The duo moved to Rochester a little more than two years ago, but they've long been involved in the region's arts scene.

Panetta and Nelson helped organized the Winona-based Mid West Music Fest over the past several years. They're co-owners of creative arts and production studio Treedome, which started in Winona in 2016 before they opened a Rochester storefront at the end of 2021.

Since then, the duo have been busy as artists and freelancers in town. Nelson works as a videographer while Panetta is an event coordinator and marketing professional who has helped with several Rochester Downtown Alliance events, from roller disco to this weekend's ice festival, Social-ICE. She and Nelson are also organizing a Battle of the Bands this summer, which recently received Downtown Alliance grant money.

Yet Nelson and Panetta seem fated to run their own theater.

Former Gray Duck Theater owner Andy Smith found a print of a "Die Hard" pop-art poster to hang in the lobby of the Gray Duck before it opened. That poster was made by artist Matthew Nelson — Nathaniel's "Pop," who died unexpectedly last year.

Smith, elected to the Minnesota House in November, spoke with Nelson and Panetta in December about taking over the Gray Duck. Between his legislative job and his existing one — recently opened bookstores with his wife, Anna — he had little time for Gray Duck.

Nelson was a good fit. He had majored in film at Winona State University. His thesis was a detailed plan to run a one-screen movie theater — a dream he hadn't gotten around to fulfilling yet.

With Pop's Art Theater, the couple hope to replicate successful indie cinemas in the Twin Cities, such as the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis.

Nelson said he plans to bring lesser-known indie flicks to the screen, combined with classical cinema and genre films. Think French New Wave cinema one day, cheesy Kaiju films from Japan the next. And once the theater is up and running, multiple movies showing daily.

"It brings more people in," Nelson said. "It also just gives people more opportunities to watch different things that they would normally not be able to see in any other theater in town."

The plans don't stop there. Once renovations are complete, the 66-seat theater will host live music. Panetta and Nelson hope to add alcohol and plan to expand food offerings. They're also looking to create a mini-arcade in a side room later this year.

And they want to add the key thing every theater needs: a marquee sign.

"We'd really like this location to stand out as a movie theater in town," Panetta said.