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Board Member Profile: Martin Butera
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Martin Butera came of age working in his father’s Long Island pizzeria where he learned the fundamentals of how to run a successful food
industry business. Martin is the owner of Butera’s restaurants, which include three Long Island locations in Woodbury, Bay Shore, and Sayville. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Butera’s Fine Foods, which is a manufacturer of packaged chicken meatball products for retail markets, established in 2013. In 1991, Martin, his brother Gary and wife Laurie opened their first restaurant. Butera’s restaurants have been a staple for Italian food lovers for over 25 years now. Martin has served as a Board Member for the Cinema Arts Centre since 2011. The Buteras have made remarkable contributions to the Cinema Arts Centre, including their recent co-presentation of our Academy Awards Night Fundraiser, in which they provided a delicious dinner for all of our guests.
Cinema Arts Centre: How did you first learn about the Cinema Arts Centre?
Martin Butera: Laurie and I have always been avid film enthusiasts. When we moved to Syosset from Long Beach in 1998, we became aware of the Cinema in neighboring Huntington and began visiting.
CAC: What are some of your favorite memories from your earliest days attending Cinema programs?
MB: When we first visited it seemed very special... like no other theater. The intimacy and sense of community really struck us. We would always drive around to the top parking area and walk down through the area that became the garden.
CAC: How did you start to become more involved with the Cinema Arts Centre as a volunteer?
MB: Looking to celebrate Laurie's 45th birthday in early 2009, I wanted to have a party for her at the Cinema. We invited a large group of friends to see a film ("Sunshine Cleaners") and then have drinks and dessert after. When I stopped in to arrange for the event, I entered the Sky Room where a meeting was being held to discuss expanding the snack area into a cafe. I remember Vic, Charlotte, Dylan and several others looking over plans. I introduced myself, told them what I was there for but then also asked if they would like any input from me on their project as it interested me and it was what I did! So, I sat in on the meeting, and three hours later I was officially involved!
CAC: How did you become a member of our Board of Directors, and why is Board service important to you?
MB: After my work on the Cafe project I was asked by Mike Plumer, over lunch at Munday's, if I had any interest in serving on the board. Wanting to continue helping, I was more than happy to join.
The Cinema Arts Centre is an institution. We have Charlotte and Vic to thank for starting and growing such a wonderful place. It is important to me that the institution survives, that it can be here for me and for the community not only for now but for the future as well.
CAC: You have made a lot of special contributions to the Cinema related to your expertise as a chef and restaurateur, such as consulting on our café, and designing food and film events. Can you talk about one of these projects that was particularly special to you?
MB: The most memorable event that I had the privilege to be part of was, without a doubt, the "Big Night" event. The event was held in 2013 as part of the fund raising drive to finance the digital projection equipment. The film "Big Night" was a personal favorite, I had the idea to show the film, then after present and serve a certain dish from the film in the Sky Room. In the film the two brothers create a rather intricate dish called Timpano, which is a large, baked pasta dish filled with just about everything you can imagine. It requires hours to bake and time to cool, you never are quite sure that it has come out right until you cut into it - as Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub do a very memorable scene in the film. What I remember most about the the evening was how my brother, Gary, and I had the same feeling of uncertainty in front of the 200+ crowded Sky room when we were about to cut into our Timpano just as they had done in the film. What a relief when we saw that it had come out as we had hoped!
CAC: What do you think are our most important goals for the future?
MB: Immediately since our recent struggles with the pandemic - the primary goal is for the Cinema Arts Centre to survive. But survive is not the only goal, the Cinema must also thrive. I would like to secure its future by making sure the institution and organization are healthy and strong enough to continue long after we - as individuals - are gone.
CAC: What would you say to someone who wanted to learn more about Board service at the Cinema Arts Centre?
MB: I would ask a question... are you passionate about what the Cinema means to you and do you want to commit yourself to helping it continue? If so... APPLY HERE!
All of us at the Cinema Arts Centre are so grateful for the contributions of Martin Butera and all of our Board of Directors.
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