The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the movie, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiquette.
It has multiple locations across the United States, including eighteen (with several more being built) across Texas. Outside of Texas, it has five locations in Virginia (Winchester, Charlottesville, Woodbridge, Crystal City and Ashburn).[1] There are three locations in Colorado (Denver, Westminster and Littleton) and New York (Yonkers, Brooklyn, Staten Island[2] and Lower Manhattan), as well as two locations in Missouri (St. Louis and Springfield), and California (San Francisco and Los Angeles). There are individual locations in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Woodbury, Minnesota; La Vista, Nebraska; and Raleigh, North Carolina.[3][4]
Others are planned to be built in Birmingham, Alabama;[5]Glendale, Colorado;[5] Fayetteville, Arkansas[6] and Boston.[7] In March 2021, Alamo Drafthouse filed for bankruptcy but emerged from the situation three months later.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was founded by Rice University alumni Tim and Karrie League at 409 Colorado St, in an Austin, Texas warehouse district building on Colorado St. (between 4th and 5th) that was being used as a parking garage.[8]
The company began as a second-run movie theater, and distinguished itself by the food and drink service offered inside the theater, including cold beers, which continues to set Alamo Drafthouse apart from many other cinemas.[citation needed] The seating is arranged with rows of cabaret style tables in front of each row of seats, with an aisle between each row to accommodate waiter service. Customers write their orders on slips of paper, which are picked up by black-clad waiters.
Soon after opening, the original downtown theater began offering occasional unique programming such as silent movies scored by local bands playing live accompaniment, food-themed films such as Like Water for Chocolate served with a dinner matching the meals shown on screen, and retrospectives of various directors and stars.[citation needed] This includes location-based food options depending on the film setting.
In 2001, the Leagues renovated a four-screen art-house theater at 2700 Anderson Lane in North Austin, called Village Cinema, which had recently closed, and opened it as an Alamo Drafthouse which specialized in first-run movies. With this new Alamo Drafthouse Village, the downtown location ceased showing second-run movies and began to concentrate almost exclusively on unusual programming including classics, cult classics, independents, documentaries, special guest appearances, and audience participation shows.[citation needed]