Hippodrome is closing

Two years after changing hands, the Hippodrome on Concord Street is closing.

Owned by Charleston attorney Akim Anastopoulo, the 426-seat former IMAX theater next to the S.C. Aquarium on Concord Street is in the process of shutting down, he said. He could not specify a final date.

He said business was good at the center which changed names in 2011 from Terrace Hippodrome to Hippodrome Widescreen Cinema and Performing Arts Center, but he wants to focus his attention on his law practice.

Anastopoulo hopes to find a buyer for the waterfront movie theater and events venue business.

“It takes an owner who is going to be on site and be there all the time, and I just don’t have time to do that,” he said.

Anastopoulo and film production company owner Lonnie Knight, owner of KnightVision Productions, bought the business in January 2011 with the hopes of transforming the struggling operation into a multi-purpose venue.

The business is owned by The Drome LLC. Anastopoulo is the principal and owner, he said Thursday. Knight is no longer one of the owners, Anastopoulo said.

He did not specify a date for shutting it down, except to say, “We are in the process of closing.”

Reach Warren L. Wise at 937-5524 or twitter.com/warrenlancewise.