stories : Feature
Opening Night at the Eat-O-Plex
Can pizza and beer save the movies?
It’s Friday night at the Parkway Speakeasy Theater in Oakland, California, and we’re eating dinner while watching the movie Grindhouse. Yes, that’s right, dinner. Baba ghanoush, a burger, and beer delivered right to our seats on a lumpy old couch. Our fellow movie-goers are mostly tattooed twentysomethings, and it sort of feels like we’re in a friend’s living room.
If a new trend born in Texas takes off, funky little cinema-eateries like the Parkway may become a thing of the past. Recently, a flashy new breed of combo restaurant-theaters where you can eat in your seat has emerged from the Lone Star State and may be coming soon to your hometown. These are multiscreen operations showing first-run films and offering food like that of the casual-dining restaurant chains popular throughout most of the country: chicken fingers; big, sweet cocktails; pizza; and burgers. Call it the rise of the eat-o-plex: This theater-dinner concept is being hailed by many in the movie-exhibition industry as a way to lure customers away from their home theaters and DVDs. And a way to get them to spend more when they do come in.
“The food business is a potentially profitable one, but the film business is stuck with a lot of movies that don’t play very well after the first weekend,” says Ross Melnick, a movie theater historian who runs the blog Cinema Treasures. “They’re counting on the people who buy food to boost their bottom lines.”
But though the eat-o-plexes may be aiming for the mainstream, this business model is inescapably funky. Operating a restaurant and a movie theater at the same time is about as easy as, well, eating in the dark.
Texas: Ground Zero for the Eat-O-Plex
Today, there are more than 20 different cinema-eateries in Texas, run by three different companies. The best known, Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, was started in Austin in 1997 by a couple named Karrie and Tim League, who built a following among film buffs by doing things like inviting Quentin Tarantino to screen his favorite movies. Three more Alamos opened in Austin. The food is well-done pub grub that you order from servers at your seat and eat at little tables that extend in front of you. There’s an extensive selection of draft beers and wine, too.
Despite Alamo’s early success, the larger moneymaking potential of cinema-eateries wasn’t obvious until 1998, when another Texas outfit, Studio Movie Grill, became the first theater-restaurant combo to get the rights to show a first-run film (The Waterboy).
“The studios wanted their movie to be the reason people came, and the main point of attention [rather than something to compete with the food],” says Patrick Corcoran, research director for the trade group the National Association of Theatre Owners. “But [the film] did very well, so more started doing it.”
Another competitor, Movie Tavern, entered the fray. In 2004, the Leagues got out of the business of running Alamo (though they still own and operate the Austin theaters), and the new ownership franchised the concept across Texas, with plans to go national.
A Bad Buddy Movie
Managing an eat-o-plex means running two tough businesses seemingly at odds. Servers dash through the theater blocking the screen, balancing martinis, and trying to remember viewers’ food allergies as bombs explode on the screen in front of them. People don’t want to hear the clanking of silverware, so anything requiring extensive knife-and-fork action isn’t ideal.
Then there’s the issue of lighting. Kevin Spitzer of Seattle-based indie Central Cinema notes that in Washington state, the law mandates that any drinking establishment must keep its lights at a certain level of brightness. If it’s too dark, underage drinking becomes an issue. Nobody likes to watch a movie with the lights on, but then again, eating in the dark has its detractors too.
“Ahi tuna salad dropped off our menu,” says John Martin, the CEO of Alamo Drafthouse. “I think customers have trepidation about having things they’d rather see in a well-lit restaurant.”
As a result, some cinema-eateries are dark like a normal theater, others are a little lit. Just like their patrons:
“A lot of distracting bottle clanking and ice bucket racket starts emanating from their area after awhile,” wrote Houston Press food writer Robb Walsh after visiting Alamo Drafthouse in 2004. “And they start laughing a lot louder, too.”
Flow in the kitchen can be a nightmare. The line gets slammed all at once, right as the movie starts. Movie Tavern’s kitchens get 75 percent of their roughly 1,000 Saturday night orders right at 7 p.m., says owner Jeff Benson. And if you told most restaurant managers that they had to watch over seven rooms without being able to see the floor, they’d probably laugh in your face.
To cope, theaters encourage diners to arrive 20 to 30 minutes early to place their orders, and some, like Alamo Drafthouse, offer special preshow entertainment like old cartoons or shorts from local filmmakers to sweeten the deal. To make service more unobtrusive, Alamo has diners write down what they want on a slip of paper and attach it to a clip in front of them that servers spot as they roam the aisles. Movie Tavern has diners push a light-up button, as if they’re on an airplane. But it’s still distracting.
Cliff-hanger
Despite the increased costs of running a restaurant, such as renovations (often a screening room is converted into a kitchen), ingredients, higher insurance and energy bills, and more employees, serving dinner is an attractive idea for theaters.
After all, they make most of their money off concessions, not ticket sales. During the opening week of a first-run film, a theater typically has to pay the distributor between 70 and 90 percent of the money it makes off tickets. (The percentage goes down each subsequent week, but so do audience numbers.) That’s why normal theaters charge so much for popcorn and Coke.
But eat-o-plexes aren’t involved in price gouging: They charge about what you’d expect from a T.G.I. Friday’s or Chili’s restaurant, an average of nine bucks for an entrée. The companies are privately held and won’t reveal how big their margins are on food sales.
The established national theater chains are watching the eat-o-plexes carefully, and some are even testing the model in pilot programs. Regal Entertainment Group has invested in Cinebarre, a chain of eat-o-plexes being developed by a former CEO of Alamo Drafthouse. The first is slated to open in Asheville, North Carolina, this summer, with plans for national expansion.
Likewise, National Amusements, the theater company run by media mogul Sumner Redstone’s daughter, Shari Redstone, is offering customers who pay a bit more the opportunity to eat things like beef Wellington in their movie seats at a few of its Bridge theaters. Then there are future plans for fancier “VIP” combo dining room–screening rooms that have private entrances and tables. At AMC’s Premium 1 cinema in Framingham, Massachusetts, there’s an over-21 auditorium with cocktail service.
Though cinema-eateries seem like a natural venue in which to capitalize on America’s infatuation with all things gourmet, most are sticking to the mass-market model established by the Texan eat-o-plexes. A study done by Cinebarre revealed that 83 percent of movie-goers eat a meal at a restaurant one hour before or after a film. But, says Cinebarre CEO Terrell Braly, “It doesn’t mean, ‘Let’s go to Chez This or Chez That.’ They are instead going to the cool neighborhood pizza place.”
Just keep your fingers crossed that the guy next to you doesn’t order anchovies.
it would be great if a place like this was in my area in philadelphia or new jersey areas
I like the idea. But the supposed dis-interest in movies by the general public isn't the reason for the decline in attendance. It's the value for the price of admission.
$8-$10 per person, plus the outrageous price of a Coke and popcorn ($15-20) is just TOO MUCH.
Reduce the prices to realistic levels and people will re-discover that going to the movies is worth the money.
A trend born in Texas? McMenamin's in Portland has been operating the Mission Theatre/pub since 1987, and now has eight sites showing movies.
http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?t...
Maybe if the movies were worth seeing, more people would go. I went this weekend, which is rare, and sat through probably 8 trailers. Not one movie would I be interested in going to see. And the one I paid for was only "so-so." It's just ridiculous.
I think the concept of eating at the theater isn't a bad one, but turning the theater into a restaurant seems a REALLY bad idea. It's not a venue for people to be waited on. Why don't they just expand the offerings at the freaking counter beyond nachos and popcorn? They'd get a lot more money from me if they offered a turkey wrap and side of cut veggies.
Cinépolis movie theaters in Mexico opened the VIP concept a few years back. It has leather reclinables, sushi and sandwiches deliverable in-theater. It also sports a full bar.
I already have problems paying 10 bucks for a movie filled with people who don't turn their cel phones off, who explain plotlines to their girlfriends etc. The thought of sitting through a movie next to someone eating dinner (probably loudly) bothers me.
I am patiently waiting for the day when movie theaters have headphone jacks to drown out people.
(Although I love the Parkway. That is different.)
It's a great idea. No it shouldn't be a full blown restaurant experience, but it shouldn't be cafeteria food either. A few good beers/wines to choose from and decent pub grub makes the movie experience a lot more appealing to me.
I've all but written off the traditional concessions at the movies because of the prices and the fact that there's no real food there. popcorn with butter flavored oil and a watered down soda for 10 bucks?!? I'd feel better getting a cheeseburger or a club sandwich for the same price.
This idea could fill the gap left by "drive-ins" as they slowly go extinct. Something to go with the movie rather than just staring at the screen. I can't actually believe that the movie industry is concerned about the movie being the main attraction. What's the worry? There are so many movies released that are just average, I think the audience would enjoy the movie more if the environment was comfortable and relaxing
I live in Austin and I love the Alamo. One unintended benefit of a movie theater that is also a bar is that they don't allow kids after a certain hour. Say what you want, but I think it is pretty awesome to be able to go to a 7:00 screening and not have to listen to the pack of 20 teenagers sitting behind you whisper and giggle.
Real Pizza in Bar Harbor, Maine, has been perfecting this concept for about 15-20 years now.
They started off with a small arthouse cinema with couches serving gourmet pizza and artisanal ale, now they have two full size cinemas with some couches and the rest are more typical "eat-o-plex".It is incredible. Oh yeah they have an intermission which I like for sneaking a puff behind the theater.
Some more choice in cinema menus would go a long way. Since moving to Belgium and now Thailand, I can now appreciate how good a can of beer is with a movie. I've never seen anyone abuse it or become a problem for other patrons. Some Thai cinemas offer "salmon flavored popcorn" so I can't complain about choice. It's actually not as bad as it sounds. :)
I really like McMenamins' pub theatres, as mentioned by Nettie, above. I'm in Olympia in Washington state, and a short drive down the freeway gets us to the historic Olympic Hotel (former brothel) now restaurant/pub/theatre. It's distinctly funky, casual, mismatched tables and chairs, the movies are $3 a pop, and they have regular $10 specials for movie/beer/burger. Great place for toddlers, I took my father in a wheelchair there, and no one gets worked up if you need to go in and out of the place. It's laid back and fun.
In response to the comments made by itsolivia, what's great about Alamo is that at every show, they have a clip (usually a funny homemade one) telling you to turn your cell phones off etc., and then they say that if someone is being loud or obnoxious near you, all you have to do is put up your little order card, and a manager will come to quote, "Take their ass out." I also agree with Blanche Davidians remarks about loud kids/teens. It's nice to know I have the option of going to a theatre and knowing there won't be loud unruly kids throwing popcorn or making annoying comments. In fact, i like it so much, I rarely go to a regular theatre anymore, even when I'm not hungry.
I love going to the Parkway theater in Oakland. Not just because they serve food and beer, but also because of the whole atmosphere and film selection. It doesn't matter if theaters all over start serving food, if they continue showing only shallow Hollywood productions I won't give them my money.
just another way for the population to become more obese... are we not told to not watch tv while eating as the brain ignores how full we are? so lets stuff more greasy food in to our bodies, while sitting, not getting the exercise we already need...
to vodka_cocktail's comment....it sounds like you're suggesting that people don't eat while watching a movie.
I think most people munch during a movie, whether it's a giant sugary soda, fake-butter popcorn, or overpriced candy. There's more nutritional value to pizza and beer than popcorn and coke.
Agreed, the majority of the population could probably exercise a little more and eat a little less greasy grub, but I tend to think it's better for people to eat protien, dairy, and grain versus corn syrup and modified soybean oil
We don't have any theater with the eat while you watch concept in Connecticut, so when I was visiting a friend in Dallas and experienced Studio Movie Grill in Arlington, I was blown away. My enthusiasm was not only reserved for the fact that I can watch the hunks of Oceans 13 while chowing down on delicious ribs and washing them all down with the Studio Grande Blue Margarita... what really took my breath away was the clarity of their high resolution screen!
My husband would take me to Costco's before we were married and just stare at the flat screen HDTV and was enthralled by the clarity and high resolution. I wrote him off as a geek and never really gave it another thought until now. Now I am back up in the Northeast - back to watching a Great movie like Ratatouille on a dust and speckled screen and eating cardboard popcorn. The screen, the theater, and the experience didn't do a great film like Ratatouille justice.
Hats off to Studio Movie Grill - but it should come with a warning sign for out of state visitors stating: "May experience great film presentation withdrawal when you go back home."
dixie stampede. i don't think i could bring myself to sit through a summer blockbuster with people eating all around me. i could however do one of those little independent theater sit on couches and sip shiner deals. these are not the same thing, the eat-o-plex and the smaller, more independent theaters. dixie stampede.
I read both the article and comments with great interest. Greater Union Cinemas in Australia have been operating a concept called Gold Class for about 9 years now with great success. The interesting thing is the distinct differences between the concepts described by the above and them. They have separate cinemas (40 persons) and a dedicated lounge area for use by those guests only. It does make for an excellent night out, specially with the reclining arm chairs. The menu is like a restaurant but easier to eat, specially in the dark, and noise is never really a factor. I am a chef by trade and after discovering this idea I stopped going to a normal movie house. Better still, I ended up working for them.