“Love Your Customer”

Bob Goodrich, owner of Goodrich Quality Theaters, Inc., headquartered in Grand Rapids, stands third from the right at the 1975 ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Quad Theater, adjacent to a shopping center near Bay and Tittabawassee roads in Kochville Township, Saginaw County. In the background, Theater 2 features Lucky Lady, a film about rum running during the Prohibition. Film stars include Gene Hackman, Liza Minnelli, and Burt Reynolds.

Goodrich, who graduated with a law degree in 1966, reluctantly assumed his father’s single theater in Grand Rapids. Today a media mogul, Goodrich operates 30 theaters in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. Part of his continuing success is attributed to his ability to adapt to changes in technology and the economy. He “loves his customers” and listens to them to create theaters especially designed for each community.

When Goodrich built the Quad Theater in the early ’70s, thousands were working in local GM facilities. Saginaw had the second highest per family income in the United States—and provided an excellent customer base. Despite today’s struggling economy, earlier this year Goodrich brought reasonably priced big city entertainment to the region with the new Quality 10 GDX (Giant Digital Experience)10-screen theater built adjacent to the past Saginaw 12 (prior Quad).

The Quality 10 GDX features one huge GDX auditorium—the largest north of Flint—with 400 seats, a nearly four-story high 70-foot wide screen, and Dolby Atmos sound. Two adjoining theaters, with 56-foot wide screens, feature similar sound. These are the only theaters offering this platform within an 80-mile radius. Increased amenities include added concessions, self-serve areas, special listening devices, and multiple private party and meeting rooms. Photo and Quad history courtesy of Goodrich Quality Theaters, Inc.