When Dallas/Fort Worth finally got an Alamo Drafthouse theater to call its own, every ravenous movie buff in the Metroplex knew it couldn't match their unquenchable appetite for cult films, first runs and obscure favorites. So rather than risk having the Richardson theater eaten up by their fans (because as greedy as insurance companies are, we're sure they don't have a plan for such a thing), they are building a second theater.
This week the theater chain announced their plans to build a second DFW theater located on the corner of South Lamar and Cadiz Street. The theater will have eight screens, one more than the Richardson theater, and their signature taproom Glass Half Full. The theater will also have an outdoor patio that will not only serve food and drinks but could also be converted into an outdoor theater for special screenings and sporting events.
Creative director James Wallace, who currently oversees the Richardson theater's programming and will also organize screening schedules and events for the new theater, sounded very excited about the prospect of taking another movie theater under his wing.
"Everybody involved was really excited about it and supportive of it," he says. "From the response we've gotten online from the people that live down in that area that the theater will be closer for them than it is in Richardson, the reception has been just great. Everybody involved in making it happen was really supportive."
Once construction is done and the theater is open for business, Wallace said the biggest challenge will be finding and creating events for the neighbor theater's core audience.
"Every theater has its own personality and every theater sits in a different area and utilizes things around that area that utilize that demographic," he says. "With Richardson being the only Drafthouse here right now, we had to be something for everybody. With more theaters opening, there are more exciting opportunities in terms of my role because I get to shape the personal programming with each theater."
The new theater's close proximity to the Dallas Convention Center means they could arrange all sorts of special screenings and events aligned with fan driven gatherings like the Dallas Comic-Con. They could also arrange more in-person screenings with the stars of famous movies staying in some of downtown Dallas' four-star hotels, Wallace says.
"To now have a theater in Dallas proper is really exciting," he says. "To be able to look out and see the same skyline that served as the same skyline in Robocop, you'll realize you're in a city movie theater especially when there are no movie theaters down there."
