Going back decades, movie theaters and bowling alleys have been staples of popular contemporary American culture. Yet the tried and true entertainment venues are not immune to the dulling effects of time and some have had to develop new ways to deliver classic entertainment and stay relevant and profitable.
Tim League, owner of the national theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is among the crop of innovators changing the traditional model of big-box movie theaters and updating it for a diverse sects of moviegoers.
“We”™ve seen a good amount of adapting and experimenting in the industry in the past few years, from alternative content to luxury seating to playing around with concession offerings and other forms of entertainment in the same complex,” said League, founder and CEO of the 18-year-old cinema chain based in Austin, Texas. “I want the entire cinema industry to remain vital and strong, and that can only happen if everyone is always trying to make the experience of going to the cinema the best it can be.”
His company”™s theaters, including the six-screen complex that opened on Central Avenue in Yonkers in 2013, feature in-theater food service from an upscale menu alongside dozens of craft beers ”” all to be enjoyed from the comfort of a generously cushioned movie seat.
Over the last few years, Westchester theaters have had to come up with new ways to keep fans in seats as some have struggled to stay afloat. Several movie theaters have shut down, including the former Regal Cinema in Yonkers, once known as Movieland, which Alamo Drafthouse replaced.
Bow Tie Cinemas, a 115-year-old, family-owned theater chain based in Ridgefield, Connecticut, closed its two-screen theater in the historic Bedford Playhouse in January. Friends of Bedford Playhouse, a nonprofit group of film enthusiasts, raised $2.5 million earlier this year to save the 68-year-old playhouse from conversion to other uses by its owner and has begun construction to revive it as an art-house cinema and community center similar to the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville.
“One of the reasons that the previous tenants did not renew their lease was that the mainstream offerings they featured were not drawing sufficient viewership,” said John Farr, founder and president of Friends of Bedford Playhouse. “It was difficult for a two-screen theater in Bedford to compete with a six- screen theater next door in Mount Kisco, not to mention offerings further south.”
Like Alama Drafthouse, the Bedford theater will feature independent, foreign, documentary and classic films combined and allow alcohol consumption, although food items will not be served directly to movie watchers.
Movie theaters aren”™t the only classic entertainment venue that have had to adapt in order to survive.
- Photo courtesy Bowlmor
AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc., at one time the largest owner of bowling centers in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy in 2012, citing the changing demographics of bowlers.
“In the 1960s and ”™70s, bowlers valued the basic bowling experience; they kept track of bowling scores on a piece of paper and were satisfied with no-frills dining options and amenities,” bankruptcy papers filed by the New York City-based company read. “Back then, the typical bowler was a blue-collar factory worker who belonged to one or more bowling leagues. Today”™s typical bowler comes from a broader swath of the middle class and is unlikely to bowl in a league. Non-league bowlers bowl less often. And when they do bowl, they expect nicer amenities ”” automatic scoring, a variety of food and beverage options, and more attractive facilities.”
In 2013, AMF merged with Strike Holdings LLC, owner of the original Bowlmor Union Square, considered a pioneer of the “nightclub-meets-bowling” business model in the 1990s.
At the Bowlmor AMF in White Plains, the company has rolled out an upscale venue for that new breed of bowler.
The facility at 47 Tarrytown Road, which opened in March, features 56 lanes illuminated by neon-colored black light with three bar lounge areas, sofa seating, a gas fireplace and popular music provided by DJs.
“The lights are low, the vibe is intimate, the music is fresh and engaging,” Jillian Laufer, a spokesperson for Bowlmor AMF said. “Plastic seats are nowhere to be found at Bowlmor; instead, guests get to relax on comfortable couches and have drinks delivered to them laneside while they bowl.
“So the Bowlmor experience is really more about the social, communal aspect of bowling as opposed to the competitive, sporting aspect one might encounter at a traditional center.”
The marketing stratagems apparently have resonated with recreation-seeking Americans. Both entertainment chains are expanding.
Alamo Drafthouse has grown to include 19 locations nationwide since its start in Texas in 1997. The company plans to open Alamo Drafthouse Downtown Brooklyn this year, a seven-screen theater at City Point, the 1.8-million-square-foot, $1 billion mixed-use development in the borough.
The debut this year of Bowlmor White Plains followed the opening of Bowlmore Norwalk in Connecticut in 2014. The company has been on a renovating spree, revamping old AMF facilities into their contemporary design.
Bolwmor also has introduced a new brand to its chain of bowling alleys, called “Bowleros,” described as a “funky, hipster, throwback bowling experience that fuses old-school Americana with a wildly inventive menu.”
Since May 2014 the company has opened four Bowlero lanes in Texas and California and plans to add more locations nationwide this year.
