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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: Cinema Grill Closes After 5 Weeks
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Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999
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posted 05-15-2004 07:34 PM
This may be some sort of record...closing after only 5 weeks in business.
I thought something suspicious was going on as they never changed their films and suddenly, no newspaper ads.
From the Columbus Dispatch, 5/15/04:
quote:
CINEMA GRILL CLOSES AFTER 5 WEEKS
By Mike Pramik
Its menu offered chicken fingers, but the Cinema Grill movie theater at the Continent ended up laying an egg.
Just five weeks after it opened, the dinner-and-a-movie venue that was expected to bolster the Continent's rebirth has closed. Cinema Grill was the victim of poor execution and even worse planning, say the Continent's developers, who vow to run the theater themselves.
Realty Finance Management will take the summer to regroup and remodel the former Loews theater at 6360 Busch Blvd. It has hired Larry Gardner, a 25-year veteran of AMC Entertainment Inc., to develop a new plan that will again bring first-run movies to the North Side entertainment center.
"It's a first-run movie theater first, and we are going to offer a wider variety of food than what is available in the average movie theater,'' Gardner said. "We think it was a very unfortunate misstep between the Cinema Grill folks and getting this done.
"We want to be absolutely sure we do it right this time.''
David Farnsworth, managing director of Realty Finance, said the theater will reopen in 90 to 120 days after remodeling to improve the layout and seating.
What happened at Cinema Grill?
"What didn't happen?'' said Doug Huff, manager of the Continent.
The concept was established by Jim and John Duffy, owners of Restaurant Entertainment Group in Atlanta. But the brothers, who grew up in Upper Arlington, sold the Continent location to Larry Jones and Dale Obracay. Their company, National Entertainment, was to operate the theater as a Cinema Grill franchise.
The eight-screen theater opened April 8, after Realty Finance spent $1.2 million on its renovation. The project was delayed more than once and opened nine months later than first announced.
Huff said the theater operators had problems from the outset balancing sound and picture, the crew seemed unprepared, and the layout was inefficient.
"The kitchen was in the back of the building, which is the greatest distance to ever have to deliver food to a theater seat,'' Huff said.
The concept was faulty from the beginning, Gardner said, because it reduced seating from 3,000 to 751.
"You cannot turn enough gross to please the (movie) distributors to remain first-run with eight screens and 751 seats,'' Gardner said.
It all led Realty Finance to ask for early termination of the lease it had with Cinema Grill and a Florida company that was to run the theater.
Jim Duffy didn't return calls seeking comment. Executives at Florida-based National Entertainment also were not available for comment.
Plans call for moving the kitchen and a full-service bar to the front of the building, with fast-casual service. Gardner said that moviegoers will be able to purchase food and drinks in the bar and restaurant area and carry it with them into the theaters. There will be no servers inside the theaters.
The remodeling will cause Realty Finance to miss the summer movie season, but Farnsworth said the theater will complement other entertainment venues, apartments and athletic centers that have opened since Realty Finance bought the Continent in 2001.
"The building's there, that's No. 1,'' Farnsworth said. "We did a large amount of work in getting it ready for the last opening.
"We still believe the concept is viable.''
Larry Gardner was the district manager of AMC for many years in this area. At least he has some experience in the business...
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Josh Kirkhart
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 165
From: Austin/Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 05-16-2004 01:18 PM
While I'm not a big fan of this premise, 'restraunt and theatres' it does seem to work. The Alamo Drafthouse has expanded rapidly over over the past two years, and began franchising a year ago. They have opened in two older REG sites in austin in addition to thier 'attic' location downtown, and are planning another by the begining of next year. They have expanded to Houston, San Antonio and are actually building from the ground up in San Marcus later this year. While the seating renovations cut thier possible attendance in half and don't open till 4pm on most days, they sell food hand over fist.
I have to assume the film companies take 99% or all of the gross to make up for lost shows and in a competitive zone are paying out the wazoo for certain runs, but the Austin enviroment loves 'em. Like I said, I don't like em, I think they are overlit, don't like waiters walking around all the time and definatly dont like smelling all the food, but evidently its just me in that boat. Although when the lease is up and the new theatre is open its said the downtown 'attic' will be demolished, really don't like that building. All this being said, I have seen the booths and while they may not be the best in town, they do have ok presentation, and offer lots of repratory titles, to keep it quirky and appealing to the 'Keep Austin Wierd' people.
Anyway this was all just a rant on these style of restraunts, to each there own.
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Kenneth Wuepper
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1026
From: Saginaw, MI, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 05-18-2004 06:21 PM
Here in Saginaw, MI we had an enterprise called "Cinema and Suds". It was a two screen restaurant bar combination which also showed movies. They were second run and only ran late afternoon, evening and late evening shows. Each screen had about 100 seats at little bars with stools and chairs around small tables which faced the screens.
When the building was ready for the equipment, they discovered that the screens were flat to the outside walls. So they had to cut holes in the brick walls and make boxes outside for the three screen channel speakers. The building looked a little funny with those six boxes poking out of the wall.
We only went there once. It was very noisy. The later it got the greater the noise. It seemed that everyone had already seen the film as there was little attention paid to the screen.
The menu was sandwiches, nachoes, pizza and, of course, alcoholic beverages galore. When the business was no longer a novelty and attendance dropped off, they tried making the theatres into meeting rooms with video projection. That didn't last as there are only so many business meetings with Power Point shows in any one year.
The building became the headquarters for an internet company and then was sold and enlarged for other offices.
The location was great, just across the street from a shopping mall and kitty corner from where Kerasotes later built and still operates a 10 plex, Fashion Square Cinema.
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