Advice for the Mount Lookout Cinema Grill from someone who knows nothing about business
Dear Mount Lookout Cinema Grill,
If I were you, here's what I'd do:
- Reopen. (Please?)
- Forget new releases - if people want to see King Kong, they'll do it in stadium seating with dynamic surround sound.
- Instead, buy up prints of classic black-and-white movies, cult favorites, blockbuster hits of the past - anything people might want to see on the big screen again. Think quirky; think retirees and college kids. Think: the original King Kong. Think Casablanca during the day, Raiders of the Lost Ark at night, with an old newsreel and cartoon for good measure.
- Don't worry about serving food. Popcorn and candy - that's all you need. The megaplexes serve everything you used to, plus funnel cake. Your focus is on the movies; later, you can consider expanding your menu.
- But, for the love of God, do NOT give up your liquor license! Do you have a bar? You don't? Get a bar - heck, put one in each theater so people can get refills without having to miss any of the movie.
- Consider late shows. You have a potential built-in clientele in the people who spill out from MLT, Millions, Zip's and the Stand every weekend. They don't have to go home, but they can't stay there ... so maybe they'll decide that your 2 a.m. showing of Attack of the 50-Foot Woman is just the thing.
If you did this, you would totally be my dream theater and I would tell all my friends about you.
Love,
Kelly
If I were you, here's what I'd do:
- Reopen. (Please?)
- Forget new releases - if people want to see King Kong, they'll do it in stadium seating with dynamic surround sound.
- Instead, buy up prints of classic black-and-white movies, cult favorites, blockbuster hits of the past - anything people might want to see on the big screen again. Think quirky; think retirees and college kids. Think: the original King Kong. Think Casablanca during the day, Raiders of the Lost Ark at night, with an old newsreel and cartoon for good measure.
- Don't worry about serving food. Popcorn and candy - that's all you need. The megaplexes serve everything you used to, plus funnel cake. Your focus is on the movies; later, you can consider expanding your menu.
- But, for the love of God, do NOT give up your liquor license! Do you have a bar? You don't? Get a bar - heck, put one in each theater so people can get refills without having to miss any of the movie.
- Consider late shows. You have a potential built-in clientele in the people who spill out from MLT, Millions, Zip's and the Stand every weekend. They don't have to go home, but they can't stay there ... so maybe they'll decide that your 2 a.m. showing of Attack of the 50-Foot Woman is just the thing.
If you did this, you would totally be my dream theater and I would tell all my friends about you.
Love,
Kelly
10 Comments:
Thank god you aren't the cinema grill. You would be losing a lot of money just to keep yourself happy.
I agree with you 100%. I know if they did those things, I would go often.
The people spilling out of MLT at 2 a.m. don't want to spend two hours in a restaurant chair watching a movie.
I don't care WHAT they do with it, I just want them to re-open!
I think a full menu is still a good idea though... it's the perfect date with dinner and a movie!
a good idea, but the public performance rights on some of the older films may cost a significant amount of $$.
King Kong, fo example, would probably cost an arm. or two.
Anyone older than 35 will remember Moviola (later "The Movies"), next to Mullane's on Race Street. It was brilliant.
i'm with you. would love to see it reopen. in washington, d.c., they had one of these that was wildly successful. keys to its success were:
1) beer, cheap pitchers
2) movie selection - cool movies. didn't always matter whether they were new.
3) showmanship - they would bring in local personalities to do bits on the movies that were being shown
4) promotions - wednesday night was free admission night. more beer was consumed on this night than any other night and this really drew the college crowd
if it is cool, they will come.
I hadn't thought of public performance rights, Anon - I had just thought of buying up film prints to form a large, rotating library. The investment in those prints could be recouped fairly quickly, but you're right - the rights could become expensive, and it could be tough to find public-domain movies that people would actually want to watch. (I poked around on this page a bit and came up with Reefer Madness, a few Fred Astaire movies and the Groucho Marx quiz show You Bet Your Life.)
Newport, I remember that The Movies existed, but it closed before I ever had a chance to go.
Akadjian, that sounds freakin' sweet. Free admission night? Heck yes!
For Christ's sake! Just turn it into a strip club. I'm sick of driving to Batavia or Dayton (or Indy if I want to see some quality tail) everytime I want to see some girls squat for dollars.
Cinema Grill is/was a dump. The food sucked and I would imagine if it wasn't so dark in there you could see the filth. They should turn it into a micro brew/sports bar or a mellow mushroom pizza type place. Meaning a place that is fun like MLT or Millions but not as post college and dumpy. Show local sporting events on one screen and some crappy black and white movie on the other. I like the strip club idea too.
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