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Despite the 20+ mile drive I prefer Alamo to any other theatre in no small part due to their - depending on your view - strict but reasonable or utterly draco

Despite the 20+ mile drive I prefer Alamo to any other theatre in no small part due to their - depending on your view - strict but reasonable or utterly draconian [1] no using your phone rules. Having said that, when they got aggressive about expanding they shrunk their menu and removed local variations of both food and beer. Frankly, Alamo without a Honey I Shrimped The Pigs just ain't the same Alamo. I'd like them to let local managers add back a bit of flavor, maybe do pop ups in conjunction with local restaurants [2] and otherwise improve their food and drink offerings back to the quality they were when the chain started. Prior to the pandemic I still went to Alamo for my movies, but I ate beforehand. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L3eeC2lJZs [2] https://www.houstoniamag.com/eat-and-drink/southern-smoke-is-saving-the-food-industry-during-pandemic https://www.houstoniamag.com/eat-and-drink/southern-smoke-is... Chris Shepherd's Southern Smoke Foundation is doing pop ups in conjunction with other businesses and donating the profits to help food service workers impacted by the pandemic; both financial aid and mental health care. Laudable and his food is good.

StillBored 6y ago
The original couple locations had _good_ food. AKA food good enough to go there just for the food instead of some local joint. Somewhere along the way I think they must have cysco'ed their food, because the last couple times I went there the food was definitively subpar. This seems to be an unavoidable side effect of trying to scale like this, but I guess its just something you have to suck it up and move on (there is a up market drafthouse clone near my house, although their food was also on a decline pre Cov19.).
- technofiend 6y ago
  Their CEO came out at the time and tried to defend the decision, saying it was necessary to help them expand. But it was obviously one of those grad school exercises on how much you could lower quality and still sell at the old price gone terribly, terribly wrong. Someone told themselves they'd make it up in volume but they were mistaken. It's unfortunate because surely Alamo like any other theatre makes far more in concession sales than ticket sales. Their CEO needs to completely rethink his strategy and return Alamo to its roots, or more likely get booted in favor of someone who will.
smcnally 6y ago
Eating beforehand is a good option to have. Yonkers Drafthouse had local beer and good pies for the area (NYC suburbs) at least through my last visits in '18. Drafthouse Downtown LA had local brews through current suspended activities. The Royale with Cheese was a solid go-to in both, and both venues were excellent for highlighting & enjoying local varieties. And / but when you, your date / group / cohort can decide whether to dine before, during, or after the film, the whole experience is better.

StillBored 6y ago

The original couple locations had _good_ food. AKA food good enough to go there just for the food instead of some local joint. Somewhere along the way I think they must have cysco'ed their food, because the last couple times I went there the food was definitively subpar. This seems to be an unavoidable side effect of trying to scale like this, but I guess its just something you have to suck it up and move on (there is a up market drafthouse clone near my house, although their food was also on a decline pre Cov19.).

technofiend 6y ago
Their CEO came out at the time and tried to defend the decision, saying it was necessary to help them expand. But it was obviously one of those grad school exercises on how much you could lower quality and still sell at the old price gone terribly, terribly wrong. Someone told themselves they'd make it up in volume but they were mistaken. It's unfortunate because surely Alamo like any other theatre makes far more in concession sales than ticket sales. Their CEO needs to completely rethink his strategy and return Alamo to its roots, or more likely get booted in favor of someone who will.

smcnally 6y ago

Eating beforehand is a good option to have. Yonkers Drafthouse had local beer and good pies for the area (NYC suburbs) at least through my last visits in '18. Drafthouse Downtown LA had local brews through current suspended activities. The Royale with Cheese was a solid go-to in both, and both venues were excellent for highlighting & enjoying local varieties. And / but when you, your date / group / cohort can decide whether to dine before, during, or after the film, the whole experience is better.