Dinner and a movie anyone? It’s a growing proposition to take care of both in one place. Movie theaters have gotten with it and started to add foodservice to the movie-going experience. It started making sense to them for several reasons.
For one, home entertainment centers have become so elaborate, people have little incentive to leave their house to watch a movie. For another, dinner and a movie is the quintessential date, and so why not make it convenient to have both in one place?
There have been challenges to overcome. When you purchase a ticket, you rush into the theater to find and save enough seats, then hang out there while someone else in your group goes to get the popcorn. Theater operators had to changes a few things to get people to drop the worry. Some offer reserved seating, so then you are free to wonder around the building for a bite to eat from the expanded foodservice opportunities. In other cases, you can order from your seat and have food brought to you.
I haven’t experienced this personally, but I have vicariously. I interviewed several theater companies for an article for QSR magazine, and I was so intrigued. (You’ll find the article The Next Movie Star to the right). It makes complete sense to turn the movie theater into a restaurant, but it’s not easy, requiring many more skills sets, the right equipment, food safety training, and thought-through food-serving logistics. But my guess is, in 10 years, every movie theater company had better be on board with the idea or risk going out of business. Movie theaters as they are now seem like a dying concept with the changing times. As you learn in Marketing 101, adjust or self destruct.
What do you think?
Jody
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