The Pocket Sandwich Theatre has announced that after 40 years in Dallas, the group will relocate to downtown Carrollton. The theatre is making the move after negotiations involving its lease at Mockingbird Lane fell through.
“While the Pocket, like all other theaters, was struggling to survive the pandemic, the shopping center that had been our home for more than 31 years was sold. We met with the new owners and they informed us that we do not fit their vision for the future of the shopping center,” reads a statement posted to the theater’s website.
The theatre group will vacate their long-time home by January 10, as per the agreement with the new owners. Pocket Sandwich Theatre’s manager and partner, Shanon Dickinson, spoke with NBC 5 about the bittersweet move to Carrollton.
“We are really sad to see the old place go. We’ve been here a really long time and there’s been a lot of very, very happy memories here,” Dickinson shared on behalf of her team.
While they will say goodbye to Dallas, Dickinson and her counterparts are excited for new beginnings in a new space currently under renovation in the downtown historic district of Carrollton.
“The city of Carrollton has just been so overwhelmingly good to us. They approached us about moving there so we’re excited,” Dickinson said. “It’s a totally different vibe and area but it’s an up-and-coming area – and I think will fit right in.”
At one point, Dickinson and the theatre group believed they would be forced to close permanently. This was particularly devastating for Dickinson, whose father, Joe Dickinson, founded the Pocket Sandwich Theatre back in 1980 with partner and friend Rodney Dobbs. They opened the original Pocket Sandwich Theater on Lower Greenville in a building that formerly housed a sandwich shop.
“The actors are excited about the move because they thought that we were just going to close. So, they’re happy that we’re moving but for the actors, this is probably even more painful for them because they’ve met their groups of lifelong friends here. It’s like a close family here,” said Dickinson.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre plans to open in its new space, located literally off “Broadway,” sometime in May or June.