The sale of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres has now closed. A group led by the theater's artistic director, Michael Brindisi, choreographer Tamara Kangas Erickson and Steven Peters, owner of VenuWorks, executed a letter of intent they had signed with Thomas K. Scallen in January. Terms of the sale, which ensures the 41-year-old institution will continue as a dinner theater, were not released.

Scallen has been trying to sell the business, which includes three separate theaters, for more than a year. Entrepeneur Greg Frankenfield signed a letter of intent last fall but that deal fell through when Frankenfield wasn't able to secure labor contracts. Brindisi's group, which had also made a bid, stepped in to fill the void.

Brindisi first performed at Chanhassen in 1971. He returned occasionally to direct and in 1989 he was named artistic director. Erickson has been his chief choreographer since 2004. The two of them would indicate a smooth artistic transition for the business, which has struggled financially for several years. Peters involvement is crucial because of his resources and management record with VenuWorks, the Ames, Iowa firm that manages more than 30 venues in 17 states.

While Scallen had publicly flirted with the idea of moving the dinner theater to the proposed new development at the Mall of America, Peters said in a statement that he envisions the business staying put.

"We are the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres in Chanhassen," he said.

About 225,000 people attend the theater annually, bringing in revenue of about $10 million. The company employs nearly 300 people and is considered a vital part of the Twin Cities theater community because of the steady work and decent wages it provides actors. Developer Herb Bloomberg built the complex in 1968 and over the next several decades, the city of Chanhassen grew up around the sprawling, frontier-style building. Bloomberg, who died in 2005, sold to Scallen in the early 1990s. The Bloomberg family still owns the dinner theater building.