Empress Theatre

What Empress Theatre does

Empress Theatre is a 330-seat historic performing arts center in downtown Vallejo, California. Built in 1911 and opened on February 14, 1912, it is operated by Vallejo Center for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and serves local residents, Bay Area visitors, arts organizations, event promoters, families, and community groups. The venue hosts concerts, jazz, blues, rock, comedy, opera, films, dance, and special events in its main auditorium and the approximately 100-seat Marquee Club.

Its operating model combines transaction-based ticket sales through Tix.com and its box office with one-time venue rentals, food and beverage sales at the Marquee Club, annual memberships priced from $100 to $1,000 or more, tax-deductible donations, and registration fees for the VA Summer Arts Camp for children ages 7-14. Ticket sales and rentals are distributed directly, while Stripe supports membership and contribution payments and Mailchimp supports newsletter marketing. The organization also relies on community engagement and volunteers for event operations, administration, marketing, concessions, and front-of-house work.

Disclosed venue technology includes sound and lighting systems, wheelchair access and accessible restrooms, and a wireless FM assistive listening system offering free headsets and neck loops with T-coil functionality. Commercial systems support ticketing, payments, email, and the event calendar; the source material discloses no proprietary software platform, API, SDK, or AI capability. The theatre reports 10 employees and an active event calendar.

Name

Empress Theatre

Legal name

Vallejo Center for the Arts

Website

https://empresstheatre.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1911

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Empress Theatre is a nonprofit performing arts center in downtown Vallejo serving local and Bay Area audiences with concerts, comedy, films, dance, venue rentals, food and beverage service, and youth arts education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Venue

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG), Concert Halls & Music Venue Operations (Symphony Halls, Recital Venues) (MPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Live performing arts
• Concert venue
• Arts education programs
• Venue rental services
• Nonprofit theater

Headquarters

HQ city

Vallejo, California

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue from sale of tickets to live performances including concerts, comedy shows, films, dance events, and special programming. Tickets sold through Tix.com and at the box office.
2. Membership Donations: Annual membership program with four tiers: Member ($100/year), Sustaining Member ($250/year), Patron ($500/year), and Benefactor ($1,000+/year). Provides ongoing financial support for operations and programming.
3. Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue from Marquee Club lounge operations offering dinner, cocktails, wine, beer, and snacks. Concession booth in lobby provides additional food and beverage sales during events.
4. Venue Rentals: The theatre and Marquee Club spaces are available for rental for various event types including concerts, comedy, theatre, film screenings, dance, lectures, private parties, kids shows, workshops, and fundraisers. Event capacity ranges from under 50 to 400+ attendees.
5. Summer Arts Camp: Educational program for children ages 7-14 featuring visual arts and theatrical instruction, generating revenue through registration fees.
6. Donations: The Vallejo Center for the Arts operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accepting tax-deductible donations to support live performances, film, community programming, preservation, and operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Empress Theatre is a historic nonprofit performing arts center in downtown Vallejo, California, operating a 330-seat main auditorium and an adjacent 100-seat Marquee Club lounge. It produces and hosts ticketed live performances spanning jazz, blues, rock, comedy, tribute concerts, opera, symphonic music, film screenings, and dance events. Ancillary offerings include venue rental for external promoters, a Summer Arts Camp for children ages 7-14, on-site food and beverage service, and a four-tier annual membership/donation program.

Product overview

Empress Theatre is a historic nonprofit performing arts center (established 1911) operated by the Vallejo Center for the Arts. The company offers two primary venue spaces: the main Empress Theatre (330-seat historic auditorium) for large performances including jazz, tribute concerts, comedy, and dance; and the Marquee Club (approximately 100-seat lounge) for intimate blues shows and pre-show dinner service. Supporting products include the VA Summer Arts Camp (ages 7-14 arts education program), venue rental services for external promoters, and an annual membership/donation program with four giving levels ($100-$1,000+/year). The company also produces and hosts a rotating calendar of ticketed events including tribute concerts (Elvis, Linda Ronstadt, Billie Holiday), blues performances (Steve Freund Trio, AC Myles), comedy shows (Willie Macc, Andrea Abbate), and special events (HUNKS touring show, Pride Dinner Show). All venues feature accessibility accommodations including wheelchair access, assistive listening devices, and accessible restrooms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Marquee Club: Intimate lounge venue within the Empress Theatre featuring dinner service, cocktails, wine, and live performances.
• Vallejo Center for the Arts (VCA)

Products and services

• Empress Theatre (Main Auditorium) Historic 330-seat performing arts center venue in downtown Vallejo, California, hosting live music, concerts, jazz, comedy, films, dance, and family entertainment. Operated by Vallejo Center for the Arts and equipped with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, wheelchair accessibility, and a free wireless FM assistive listening system.
• Marquee Club Lounge Intimate lounge venue adjacent to the main theatre with approximately 100-person capacity, offering dinner service, cocktails, wine, and beer, and hosting smaller blues shows and pre-show performances.
• Venue Rentals Rental of the Empress Theatre and Marquee Club for concerts, comedy, theatre, film screenings, dance, lectures, private parties, kids shows, workshops, and fundraisers. Supports events ranging from under 50 to 400+ attendees with event budgets from under $1,000 to $10,000+ and venue- or promoter-managed ticketing options.
• VA Summer Arts Camp Annual youth arts education program for children ages 7-14 featuring visual art and theatrical instruction across cohorts (7-8, 9-10, 11-12, and an advanced-application 13-14 group), with registration-based enrollment.
• Empress Theatre Membership Program Annual nonprofit membership program with four tiers — Member ($100/year), Sustaining Member ($250/year), Patron ($500/year), and Benefactor ($1,000+/year) — plus a monthly payment option, providing ongoing financial support for operations and programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving Vallejo and Solano County communities with arts programming for over 35 years through VCA
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Vallejo Center for the Arts (VCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Vallejo Center for the Arts (VCA) is the operating entity for the Empress Theatre. VCA is a nonprofit corporation incorporated in 1991 that reopened the Theatre in 2007. VCA has been promoting and sponsoring arts organizations, artists, and special community events for over 35 years, presenting award-winning art exhibitions, hosting public forums, providing grants to arts groups, and offering arts education programs. VCA serves as an umbrella organization to small Vallejo arts groups and special projects.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AEG Presents: Global concert promoter and venue operator (parent of The Greek Theatre, etc.) — competing promoter that captures touring-act bookings and represents the broader incumbent competitive set against which the Empress programs its calendar.
• Paramount Theatre (Oakland): Iconic 3,000-seat Art Deco performing arts venue in Oakland operated by a nonprofit — a larger Bay Area incumbent that draws programming and audiences away from smaller historic theaters like the Empress.
• Live Nation Entertainment: World's largest live entertainment company operating owned/operated venues and promoting concerts globally — sets the competitive ceiling for touring-act routing decisions that affect mid-sized regional venues like the Empress.

Direct peers

• Yoshi's: Oakland-based jazz club and dinner theater known for pairing world-class performances with full dinner service — directly comparable to the Empress's Marquee Club dinner-and-show model in the same Bay Area geography.
• Town Hall Theatre: Community-based performing arts theater in Lafayette, CA — a similarly-sized East Bay nonprofit venue presenting theater, music, and community programming with a comparable volunteer-and-donation-driven operating model.
• The Fox Theatre: Historic restored Fox Theatre in Redwood City, CA — a similarly-sized, nonprofit/community-oriented performing arts venue in the Bay Area presenting live music, film, and comedy, with comparable operational structure to Empress Theatre.
• Sweetwater Music Hall: Intimate Bay Area (Mill Valley) live music and events venue of comparable scale to the Empress, presenting jazz, blues, tribute acts, and community programming with on-site F&B — a near-direct operating analog in the same regional market.
• Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre: Mid-sized dinner-and-live-performance theater combining buffet dining with Broadway-style shows — directly comparable business model to the Empress's Marquee Club dinner-theater operation, though operating in a different regional market.
• California Theatre: Historic performing arts venue in San Jose presenting touring concerts, comedy, and theatrical productions — directly comparable California-based historic theater competing for the same Bay Area touring-act pool as the Empress.

Regional players

• Masonic Auditorium: Historic Nob Hill San Francisco performance venue operated for live concerts and events — a larger-scale Bay Area historic competitor for the same touring-act bookings that Empress programs in its 330-seat house.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/empress_vallejo
• Facebookfacebook.com/empresstheatrevallejo/events
• Instagraminstagram.com/empresstheatre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/empress-theatre-vallejo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Empress Theatre