SNEAK PREVIEW: Inside the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

With just a couple of weeks to go before the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema opens its doors at One Loudoun, the franchise owners offered a preview of the theater to media Wednesday as workers continued construction.

The official opening date is set for May 3, but the community is invited to take advantage of early staff training days from April 29 to May 1. Then Iron-Man 3 begins showing at 9 p.m. May 2. Other new releases begin May 3.

Early screening movies include:

• Animal House
• Argo
• Flight
• Ghostbusters
• Life of Pi
• Skyfall
• Wreck-It Ralph
• Zero Dark Thirty

Alamo considers itself different from other theaters in many ways, from the way dinner is served during the movie via “ninja servers” to the bottomless popcorn to the strict ban on mobile device usage.

“We don’t show dancing popcorn,” said franchise partner Anthony Coco during Wednesday’s tour. “We’re in the business for movie lovers.”

Being different is the goal, said Coco, who wants to bring “that weirdness, that funk” from Austin, TX – where the Alamo Drafthouse franchise is based – to One Loudoun. The new location is the 13th in the country for the “cinema-eatery,” as they call it.

Alamo offers a variety of theater sizes, all of which seat about half the number of other theaters of similar size, to accommodate distraction-free service. The smallest theaters, which seat 44 people, can be rented out for parties; and while they sell it as a kids birthday party feature, adults are likely to appreciate the option to hook up a PlayStation3 system to big screen.

Partner Joseph Edwards said he and Coco are happy to kick off One Loudoun’s commercial area.

“We’re glad to be first,” he said. “This is the best place to be in Loudoun County.”

Fresh Market has also signed on at One Loudoun, and the Loudoun Board of Supervisors recently approved a ballpark at the development that was proposed to serve the Loudoun Hounds professional baseball club and Virginia Cavalry FC soccer team. The startup teams aim to play next year. Coco said facilities complement the theater well.

“Those are great neighbors to have,” he said.

Coco said the chose Ashburn because it was one of the few areas that had a large enough land parcel that was approved for a theater.

“You have to start somewhere,” he said, adding that the franchise requires the space for a 30,000-square-foot building. “In DC, that isn’t easy to do.”

But he also said the franchise was not planning to located any farther away from DC than Ashburn [some have questioned Ashburn proximity to DC]. Fairfax County could be next.

“We’re looking at Fairfax hard right now,” he said, but quickly added that DC and Maryland are targets as well.

Chef Johnny Dooher said that while the menu primarily stays the same from restaurant to restaurant –see attached menu from the Winchester, VA, location – each Alamo offers its own twist. For One Loudoun, the restaurant will add crab cakes and barbecue to the menu.

“And we’ll pair the meals with local beers,” Dooher said. Partnerships with local wineries are also in the works.

The Alamo’s bar, the Glass Half Full Taproom, is an area the franchise owners like to highlight. Local and quality beers will be the focus.

“You’re not going to find Bud Light or Miller Lite on tap,” Coco said. “We really like craft beer and local beer.”

Beers on tap are listed on a board in the lobby. And the bar is open for all, whether people are there to enjoy a movie or not.

One thing clearly lacking in the lobby: the snack bar. The Alamo serves you at your seat, so there's no huge snack bar with tubs of popcorn (which is made in the kitchen). Patrons can still get snacks, they simply ask the server.

Movies will cost $11.50 for adults after 6 p.m.; $15.50 for 3D movies; $9 all day for kids, students, seniors and members of the military. Lower prices will be offered for matinees.

When moviegoers buy tickets, they’ll select their seat. Orders will be taken before the movies begin, and once the movies start, even staff cannot operate electronic devices inside the theaters.

The Alamo Drafthouse has a strict policy against texting and phone calls. [Check out this clip from CNN’s Anderson Cooper or see the attached version.]

“We give them a warning and them we ask them to leave,” Coco said, adding that the message to violators is “thanks for not coming back.”

Coco said the Alamo would employ about 185 staff members, plus six or seven managers, including manager Mike McGrath.