Arturo Hilario
El Observador
Mountain View, CA — The South Bay is going to have two new temples to cinema this summer.
On Monday, June 16th, Alamo Drafthouse Mountain View will open for the first time at The Village at San Antonio Center, in time for the Summer blockbuster season. Both the hotly anticipated horror sequel 28 Years Later and Disney / Pixar’s newest animation Elio will open the first week of Alamo Drafthouse Mountain View, just in time to experience the renovations to the site of the former Showplace ICON theater, which closed last July.
Dates have yet to be finalized for the other new Silicon Valley location at Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, but it’s expected to open later in June.
With opening plans in place, hiring has begun for the Mountain View theater through careers.drafthouse.com, with Valley Fair soon to follow. Alamo Drafthouse expects to hire nearly 300 positions across both South Bay locations.
With the abrupt closing of the former Showplace ICON theaters in both Mountain View and Valley Fair locations last year, it left a desert in luxury movie theater options, leaving only the AMC’s, and Cinemark’s as options in Silicon Valley.
Announced last December, the two Silicon Valley locations are the company’s first expansion in Northern California since taking over San Francisco’s historic New Mission theater a decade ago.
Both locations instantly become the company’s largest in their history, both in square footage and in screen sizes.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema provides audiences with a quiet space to watch films, with fun preshow programming, including videos where people like local Oakland filmmaker Ryan Coogler are seen warning people not to talk or text during the screenings. Photo Credit: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
According the company, “The new locations are the two largest in the company’s history, each having three state-of-the-art auditoriums in The Big Show premium large format, boasting vivid laser projection technology and immersive Dolby Atmos digital sound. Opened in the late 2010s as Showplace ICON locations, each has been remodeled and refurbished to create the premier destination for film lovers in Northern California.”
“You’ll sit back in brand-new recliners, sip an ice-cold local draft, and order an awesome chef-inspired meal served to your seat,” says Michael Kustermann, CEO at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. “With our ad-free preshow, short trailer reels, and our ongoing commitment to banning talking and texting in the theater, this is where you’ll want to see blockbusters like 28 Years Later, Jurassic World: Rebirth and Superman.”
Alamo Drafthouse has been known for their unique set of rules and aesthetics, boasting multiple beer taps in their full bars, arcade sections, unique merchandise shops within each theater, as well as their set of quiet rules – no phones, no talking, or you get one warning, then you get kicked out.
It truly sets them apart from other theaters by immersing you in the movie watching experience, while also being fun and having the opportunity to be silly.
Although they do incorporate quiet hours through the normal screenings, they do have fun events where one can participate in, such as the Elf Movie Party, a yearly event where people can indeed be heard, “Singing loud for all to hear” (A famous line from Elf), and comes complete with stuffed snowball fights.
As the theaters open this summer, they will not be fully remodeled just yet, but through the coming months will begin to fully resemble the unique 1-of-1 characteristics and aesthetics that each theater has. What’s important is that the screens are ready, the new in-dining seats are installed, the food is hot, and the 24-tap beer options are available to dine and entertain patrons.
“We’ve got so much planned for these locations this year, so rather than make our guests in Silicon Valley wait and miss one of the best movie summers in years, we’re opening up early with a ‘sneak preview’ of what’s to come,” says Chaya Rosenthal, Chief Marketing Officer. “Over the next few months, you’ll see these theaters change and evolve in very, very exciting ways.”
