Print After initial fits and starts due to the pandemic, The Grand, downtown Escondido’s newest arts venue and community gathering space, is primed and ready for a busy summer. The $10 million project was carried out by Escondido’s New Vintage Church, and included the renovation of a 1930s-era movie theater called the Ritz, as well as demolition of a corner building next to the theater and construction of a new two-story building with a rooftop deck in its place. The project is at the corner of Grand Avenue and South Juniper Street. Although a grand opening ceremony was held last October, the venue endured shutdowns as the pandemic raged during the winter months.