The Capitol Showplace is open for business again. July’s catastrophic flooding shut down the five-screen movie house in downtown Montpelier for more than four months.

Zoe Ayres attends Montpelier High School. She wanted to begin the weekend before Thanksgiving by taking in a movie on State Street.

“We wanted to support the local businesses re-opening after the flood,” she said. “It’s been a long time, so it’s really nice to see everything re-opening.”

The Capitol Showplace sustained more than $1 million in flood damage. Large pools of standing water required mold remediation.

“(In the 1992) flood, we had flood insurance and took $350,000 in damage,” owner Fred Bashara said. “This water was about two feet higher, and dirty and muddy.”

Almost everything inside the Capitol below screen-level had to be replaced. That included the floors, the carpets, the seats and the walls.

“The water got up about a foot onto the screens, but they cleaned up very well,” Bashara said. “The curtains on the front of the screens — we were able to wash ’em.”

The Capitol re-opened Friday evening with a limited schedule. It offered “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”, the sports comedy “Next Goal Wins” and a screen version of Priscilla Presley’s 1980s memoir about her marriage to Elvis.

“I’m here to watch ‘Priscilla’,” Ayres said. “But I’ll probably come back soon to watch ‘The Hunger Games’.”

Matinee screenings will resume on Saturday. “Napoleon”, the film biography starring Joaquin Phoenix, will also arrive at the Capitol this coming Wednesday.