"Food and drinks right at your seats"; New movie theater, Alamo Drafthouse, opens in Seaport
BOSTON - The new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is officially open in the Seaport neighborhood of Boston. The theater is already sold out and is expected to welcome movie-lovers from across New England.
"You could not watch movies you couldn't go anywhere," says Alex Shebar, Marketing Manager for the Alamo Drafthouse
During the pandemic families stuck inside turned to streaming services watching new films for less money and in the comfort of their own home.
But some theaters were able to hang on by using a new business model to bring in movie-lovers once again.
"You have a kitchen at home why go out to a restaurant? The answer is it's a very different experience here. This is a time for rebirth rebuilding," says Shebar.
Two new theaters have opened in Boston, Arclight Cinema in the West End and the Austin based Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in the Seaport.
"I grew up in Austin. As I'm walking and see Alamo Drafthouse I'm like no way this is here," says Seaport resident, Liza Felici.
Neighbors say it's the lounge chairs and heated seats that get them excited, but that's not all.
"We do food and drinks right at your seats, so you don't have to get up. You can do bowls of popcorn. You can do a burger, fried pickles. We allow no talking or texting. No advertisements," says Shebar.
"So it's the unique experience, the heated seats, lounge chairs, and table side service that experts say has allowed movie theaters like this one to survive the pandemic when other theaters could not."
"When I heard about the opening of this theater my response was this is terrific news. Its really great to see venues of those kinds opening up and there are new jobs being created for people who lost their jobs three years ago," say Peter Ireland, who is a professor of Economics at Boston College.
"As with any story there are costs and there are benefits. There are still many local smaller theaters, The Brattle Theatre is still there, The Coolidge Corner. There will always be room for the local theaters," says Professor Ireland.