One of the nice things about watching movies at home is that you can relax with something to eat plus sip a cocktail, wine or beer while you’re viewing.
Movie theaters in some communities have realized this is strong competition, so they’re trying to incorporate beverages beyond soft drinks with their screenings.
And I speak here not of restaurants that hang up a small screen to become an impromptu theater, but actual movie houses.
A few examples:
At Kimball’s Twin Peak Theater in downtown Colorado Springs, Colo., you can buy a lineup of adult beverages from its wine and coffee bar. The two-screen theater usually plays independent films.
In the Chicago suburb of Woodridge, Ill., the Hollywood Blvd. Cinema, Bar & Eatery is an actual theater offering to-your-seat food and beverage service that includes beer, wine and cocktails as well as food. It is located in the Woodgrove Festival Mall.
In Tampa, Fla, the CineBistro to be built in the Hyde Park area was just given preliminary approval from the local city council to offer cocktails with food and movies. A required second reading on the request is scheduled for early February. The upscale theater, owned by Cobb Theatre of Alabama, will be built on the site of the former Sunrise Cinema. Talk about morphing to keep up with the times.
Cobb plans to begin construction this month of the six-screen project, which will include reserved seating and dining tables, with cocktails and appetizers served in the lobby bar. Patrons will be able to order a meal and drinks before the movie.
Beyond drinks AT the movies, I’ve always been fascinated by drinks IN the movies.
Amazon.com has come up with a list of movies and the drinks to serve with them, based on what’s shown on screen. You can access it online at www.amazon.com/Movies-Drinks-serve-them/lm/L6G97YKX7WHA.
Or, you can get a list of 19 cocktails (and how to make them) named after movies at www.sloshspot.com/blog/10-06-2008/19-Drinks-and-Cocktails-Named-Afte r-Movies-62.
And, there’s an even longer list of cocktails named after movie titles and characters at www.drinknation.com/theme/Movies-and-TV.
I recommend the Jedi Juice.
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(William M. Dowd covers the global adult beverage field online at BillDowd.com)
.(c) 2009 Hearst Newspapers
