i was being serious that it is a good idea for the matinees to target kids!

just being facetious about wanting to "preserve" the evenings for adults considering legoland has banned adults....because there is no where else for adults to hang out at night downtown &&

I'm not sure I agree with the thought that downtown needs more residential to keep the Mainstreet busy, to keep the restaurant (heck all area restaurantes) and retail, yes. But I drive in from the burbs to go to Cinemark Plaza, Ward Parkway and Mainstreet.

I don't think the weekends are the problem. The theater was breaking even, but there wasn't much attendance during the 5-day week. Downtown residents would probably be more likely to attend movies in the evenings during the week. Most suburban residents can't drive downtown in the evenings during a work-week. They don't have the time. The theater still has to pay employees during the slow times from Monday to Friday.

It's the same for most of the retail and restaurants. Other than event nights, there isn't much activity and patronage of P&L in the evenings during the work-week. I think they make most of their money during the weekends.

The exception is probably the grocery store which sells a lot of pre-made lunches to downtown workers during the work-week.

KC Star article on the Chesterfield Club in the Mainstreet.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/06/25/3675973/mainstreet-theater-lounge-takes.html

KC Business Journal article on the switch to Alamo Drafthouse.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/blog/morning_call/2012/06/new-mainstreet-theater-operator.html?ana=e_kan_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2012-06-26

Is now open but looks like all mainstream movies for now.

http://drafthouse.com/kansas_city/mainstreet

What a major disappointment. I can't believe it's not a good idea to dedicate at least 1 screen to a real, thought-provoking movie. I sure hope they change this. After everything I've heard, I had high hopes.

Yeah, I'm surprised they don't even have a pseudo indie movie like Moonrise Kingdom, though Tivoli has it nearby.

If I were running this place, I'd do mainstream crap on the weekends and oldies, indies, foreign, quirky to the bizarre during the week for at least 2 screens. They'll likely get significantly less business during the week so if they show something unique, it would at least draw from the broader urban core to N JoCo'rs, who tend to be more interested in off beaten path content.

I'd go downtown for a movie during the week if they did something unique (and we do go to Screenland once in a while). But I'd rather go to the Plaza theaters for $4 for a mainstream movie.

In the articles talking about their plans they stated they are just going to let the theater run "as is" for the first few months. Sometime in the fall they are going to start bringing in their own programming.

Alamo jumped at change to run Mainstreet

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2012/06/26/alamo-jumped-at-chance-to-run-kansas.html?ana=e_du_wknd&s=article_du&ed=2012-06-30&page=all

We visited the theater this weekend (it has been our go to theater since AMC opened it downtown) to see the Expendables 2.

Gone are the self-check kiosks and the main front desk, now you check in with a person in an area to the right of the old check in desk. We'd purchased tickets for the last row in theater 4 and the cashier let us know those seats were seperated by a table and offered to move us a row down to the center.

We were surprised to see a kid there (it was only 2 in the afternoon, but hey, we'd gotten used to the no kids under 18 thing or whatever it was). This was a kid young enough to need to go into the women's room with his mother. I checked online and I believe they now allow children 8 and up with a parent or guardian. The kid was no trouble, his parents on the other hand...(and that movie has enough expletives that I wouldn't take a child that young, if I were a parent).

Ordering is done by filling out an order card. No popcorn samples appeared as in the olden days. The menu has a lot more drinks but few actual entree dishes, primarily apps, salads, sandwiches and pizza. I had a mexican chicken salad which was pretty tasty with jicama, avocado, chicken, field greens, onions, cotija cheese and a lime/jalepeno dressing. Prices are about the same for food. The movie was $9.00 each.

We were there about 30 minutes early and I was expecting previews the entire time, but for about 20 minutes, they showed clips of all the action heros who were staring in the movie (can someone who views this movie elsewhere let me know if this is part of the plan or something that Alama Drafthouse put together).

They are serious about not talking/texting during the movie, they played a clip of a voicemail message someone left them after being kicked out for texting during the movie.

There were no hot towels at the end of the meal and no mint as you walked out the door either.

I will really miss the no kids restriction. At least they require an adult to be with them I guess.

The custom preshow is an Alamo feature. They don't show advertising, but rather clips keyed to the movie.

Closed for a month for renovations. When they return they'll have full dine-in service.

http://drafthouse.com/kansas_city/mainstreet

As I mentioned in another thread, the Cinemark on the Plaza closed this weekend too, supposedly for renovations. A coincidence I assume.

slow movie period, they can't do this during the summer blockbuster season

Am I the only one who thought AMC did an amazing job with the interior of Mainstreet?

I can't imagine why renovations will take a month. I really hope they don't change much.

I hope they don't replace those comfy chairs with a table/chair layout. Maybe most of the reno will be in the kitchen and Chesterfield.

agree. only thing i hope they do is get rid of popcorn smells in the chesterfield

It was just such a majestic, regal atmosphere in the Mainstreet. It was lile stepping into a 1920s theatre house instead of Studio 30 in Olathe.

I've not been inside an Alamo Drafthouse, but I'll be immensly dissapointed if they revamp the interior to replicate the southwestern look and feel of their TX locations.