MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2026--
Marcus Theatres ®, the nation’s fourth largest theatre circuit and a division of Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS), announced today the promotion of Rob Novak to executive vice president of operations and food and beverage.
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With nearly three decades at the company, Novak has held increasing responsibility in both theatre operations and food and beverage strategy. He began his career at the Marcus Theatres Addison location before being promoted to general manager of theatres in Elgin and Orland Park, Illinois. After more than 16 years in theatre operations, Novak was promoted to director of concessions in 2013 and vice president of food and beverage in 2015. In 2022, Novak was promoted to his most recent role of senior vice president of operations and food and beverage. In this role, Novak oversaw the direction, menu development, and oversight of concession and food and beverage operations throughout the circuit’s 77 locations in 17 states.
“Rob’s extraordinary 29-year career with Marcus Theatres reflects a rare combination of dedication, leadership, and deep institutional knowledge,” said Jeff Tomachek, president of Marcus Theatres. “From his early role as a theatre general manager to his work in senior leadership, Rob has developed a comprehensive, firsthand understanding of our operations, culture, and strategic priorities. His leadership has been instrumental in delivering strong results for the organization and in thoughtfully strengthening and positioning our food and beverage platform as a key component of the guest experience.”
During his tenure, Novak played an integral role in the successful launch of Bistro Plex, a concept that features in-theatre dining and elevates the culinary experience as a centerpiece of moviegoing and was instrumental in integrating Movie Tavern into the Marcus Theatres’ portfolio following its acquisition in 2019. The company’s portfolio of compelling food and beverage operations includes three full-service Zaffiro’s restaurants and nearly 30 Zaffiro’s Express outlets, which feature a signature Thincredible pizza; numerous Reel Sizzle outlets, known for fresh smash burgers and hand-dipped milkshakes; nearly 50 lobby/bar restaurants between Take Five Lounges and The Taverns; and more than 20 locations that offer in-auditorium dining.
Actively engaged within the industry, Novak served as president of the Entertainment Food and Beverage Association, formerly the National Association of Concessionaires (NAC), from 2023 through 2025 and is currently chair of the board for the organization. In 2022, he was honored with the Bert Nathan Memorial Award from the National Association of Concessionaires recognizing his leadership and significant accomplishment in the movie theatre concessions sector. Novak holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
About Marcus Theatres
Marcus Theatres ®, a division of Marcus Corporation, is the fourth-largest theatre circuit in the United States and currently owns or operates 975 screens at 77 locations in 17 states under the Marcus Theatres, Movie Tavern ® by Marcus and Bistro Plex® brands. For more information, please visit www.marcustheatres.com and follow the company on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok.
About Marcus Corporation
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Marcus Corporation is a leader in the entertainment and hospitality industries, with significant company-owned real estate assets. In addition to its Marcus Theatres division, its hospitality division, Marcus ® Hotels & Resorts, owns and/or manages 17 hotels, resorts and other properties in eight states. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.marcuscorp.com.
Rob Novak, executive vice president of operations and food and beverage
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican said the “need to work tirelessly in favor of peace” was discussed in talks Thursday with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who came to Rome on a fence-mending visit after President Donald Trump’s criticisms of Pope Leo XIV.
During Rubio’s meeting with Leo, and the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, “the shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was reaffirmed,” the Vatican said.
In a statement, the Vatican said the two sides then exchanged views on current events “with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as on the need to work tirelessly in favor of peace.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a fence-mending visit to the Vatican on Thursday to underscore strong bilateral ties, after U.S. President Donald Trump’s broadsides against Pope Leo XIV for his opposition to the Iran war angered the Holy See and sparked ongoing sparring between them.
The U.S. State Department said that the meetings with Leo and the Vatican’s top diplomat covered peace in the Middle East and “underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See,” and reflected the “enduring partnership” between them.
Rubio, a practicing Catholic, had an audience first with Leo, which was complicated at the last minute by Trump’s latest criticism of the Chicago-born pope. Leo has pushed back, calling out Trump’s misrepresentations of his views on Iran and nuclear weapons, and insisting that he’s merely preaching the biblical message of peace.
During a 2½-hour visit, Rubio then met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who on the eve of his visit had strongly defended Leo and criticized Trump’s attacks in understated diplomatic terms.
“Attacking him like that or criticizing what he does seems a bit strange to me, to say the least,” Parolin said Wednesday.
After the meetings, the U.S. State Department said that Rubio and Parolin discussed “ongoing humanitarian efforts in the Western Hemisphere and efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East. The discussion reflected the enduring partnership between the United States and the Holy See in advancing religious freedom.”
In a separate statement about the audience with Leo, U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said that the two discussed the situation in the Middle East “and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere. The meeting underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity,” he said.
The Vatican didn't immediately comment on the audiences.
Rubio also has meetings Friday with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Those meetings might not be much easier for Washington's top diplomat, given both have strongly defended Leo against Trump’s attacks and have criticized the Iran war as illegal — drawing the president's ire.
Rubio insisted this week that the visit had been in the works for a while, but that “obviously we had some stuff that happened.”
The tensions began when Trump lashed out at Leo on social media last month, saying the pope was soft on crime and terrorism for comments about the administration’s immigration policies and deportations as well as the Iran war. Leo then said that God doesn’t listen to the prayers of those who wage war.
Later, Trump posted a social media image appearing to liken himself to Jesus Christ, which was deleted after a backlash. He has refused to apologize to Leo and has sought to explain away the post by saying that he thought the image was a representation of him as a doctor.
Rubio said that Trump’s recent criticisms of Leo were rooted in his opposition to Iran potentially obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he said could be used against millions of Catholics and other Christians.
Leo has never said Iran should obtain nuclear weapons and that the Catholic Church “for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.”
“The mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth,” Leo said late Tuesday, after Trump again accused him of being “OK” with Iran having a nuclear weapon.
By Thursday, tensions seemed to have eased.
In the exchange of gifts at the Vatican, Rubio presented Leo with a small crystal football paperweight. He acknowledged Leo’s known allegiance to the Chicago White Sox, saying “you’re a baseball guy, but it has the seal of the State Department,” on it.
“What to get someone who has everything?” he joked as he picked the paperweight up.
Leo, for his part, gave Rubio a pen apparently made of olive wood — “olive being of course the plant of peace,” Leo said — with his coat of arms on it and a picture book of Vatican artworks.
Rubio has often been called on to tone down or explain Trump’s harsh rhetoric. Trump also has criticized Meloni and other NATO allies for a lack of support for the Iran war, recently announcing plans to withdraw thousands of American troops from Germany in the coming months.
Giampiero Gramaglia, former head of the ANSA news agency and its onetime Washington correspondent, said that he didn’t expect much to come out of Rubio's visit for Italian or Vatican relations. He, and other Italian commentators, believe Rubio instead was looking to smooth over relations with the pope for his own political ambitions, as well as the upcoming midterm U.S. congressional elections and 2028 presidential race.
“I doubt Rubio has the role of conciliator for Trump,” he told Italy's Foreign Press Association. “I have the perception that Rubio’s mission is more about himself” and his political ambitions as a prominent Catholic Republican.
The Rev. Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary in the Vatican’s culture office, said that Rubio’s mission wasn’t to “convert” the pope to Trump’s side. Rather, Washington “has come to acknowledge — implicitly but legibly — that (Leo’s) voice carries weight in the world that cannot simply be dismissed.”
“The situation created by President Trump’s remarks required a high-level, direct intervention, conducted in the proper language of diplomacy: a semantic corrective to a narrative of frontal conflict with the church,” he wrote in an essay this week.
Rubio said that topics other than the Iran war were on the agenda for the Vatican visit, including Cuba. The Holy See is particularly concerned about the Trump administration’s threats of potential military action there following its January ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump has said frequently that Cuba could be “next,” and even suggested that once the Iran war is over, naval assets deployed in the Middle East could return to the United States by way of Cuba.
Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants and a longtime Cuba hawk.
“We gave Cuba $6 million of humanitarian aid, but obviously they won’t let us distribute it," Rubio said. “We distributed it through the church. We’d like to do more.”
Matthew Lee, the AP's diplomatic writer, reported from Washington.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is greeted by a Vatican official as he arrives at the St. Damasus courtyard to meet with Pope Leo XIV and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is greeted by Archbishop Petar Rajič, the new Prefect of the Papal Householdas as he arrives at the St. Damasus courtyard to meet with Pope Leo XIV and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaves the St. Damasus courtyard after meeting with Pope Leo XIV and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaves the St. Damasus courtyard after meeting with Pope Leo XIV and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool)
In this handout photo provided by Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV exchanges gifts with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, as they meet in the pope's private library at the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Vatican Media via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Wife Jeannette arrive at Rome's Ciampino airport for a two-day visit to Italy and the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch upon hi arrival at Rome's Ciampino airport for a two-day visit to Italy and the Vatican, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Pope Leo XIV arrives at the swearing in ceremony for 28 new Pontifical Swiss Guards in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio leaves the room after speaking to the media in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
