Downtown SLO theater now serving alcohol at some movies

A San Luis Obispo movie theater has added alcohol to the menu for select showings, becoming the second theater in San Luis Obispo County to offer special selections for the over-21 crowd.

Downtown Centre Cinemas recently added local craft beers and wine for of-age moviegoers, although the theater — owned by Newport Beach-based Sanborn Theatres — is restricting which movies the alcoholic drinks are allowed in.

“We don’t want people to have beer or wine around kids, so we are limiting it to certain showtimes so that it is contained,” Downtown Centre Manager Maryanna Espejo said.

The alcohol will only be permitted in screenings of movies that will not have children present, such as rated-R films, she said. It will also be limited to showings after 5 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays and holidays, according to the theater’s website.

The Fremont Theatre, which is also owned by Sanborn Theatres, will not serve wine and beer, Espejo said.

The changes to Downtown Centre come several months after Galaxy Theatres in Atascadero began allowing alcoholic beverages into all of its movie showings, rather than just select showings.

The Atascadero theater originally allowed drinks in only its two VIP theaters, where all members of the audience were 21 or older. But in December 2013 the theater began allowing those drinks in all of its 10 screens, regardless of underage audience members.

Management said at the time that the change was due to customer demand, and that it did not expect any problems with underage drinking.

Galaxy Theatres President Rafe Cohen confirmed the theater has not had any problems with underage drinking since expanding its drink menu, and that in general, the type of drinking that is going on at the theater is different than what would happen at a bar, for example.

“Our typical patron is getting a beer and a pretzel and then going into a movie,” he said. “Like at other movies, they aren’t really getting up during the movie except maybe to go to the bathroom. Most tend to be a one-drink visit.”

But those single drinks add up to a nice profit for the company, Cohen said. He estimated that concession spending has increased by at least 20 percent since the theater expanded its alcohol offerings.

This story was originally published August 26, 2014 at 10:52 AM with the headline "Downtown SLO theater now serving alcohol at some movies."