Get The Popcorn
Alamo Drafthouse is heading to Midtown: Houston suddenly has movie options
You won't have to head outside the Loop to go to Alamo Drafthouse anymore.
The beloved movie theater chain known for offering dinner and drinks is opening up a location in the heart of Midtown. The new Alamo will be part of a new 60,000-square-foot mixed-use property at 2901 Louisiana St., not far from The Mix development and restaurants Artisans and Piola.
Alamo is also opening a new location in the Vintage Park Shopping Village off of Tomball Parkway and Louetta Road. Expected to open in early 2013, this Alamo fits in with the suburban model that the company has used in the Houston area in the past. Vintage Park — which is supposed to look like a Venetian village in a Las Vegas shopping mall sort of way — has sometimes struggled with finding stores to fill its space.
The Alamo will give Vintage a stronger draw.
The Midtown location could be the real game changer though. Company officials note that there are more than 700,000 people living within 15 minutes of 2901 Louisiana and Alamo plans to pull out all the stops to make this a showcase multi-story cinema. An expansive lobby bar with views of the Houston skyline is already being promised.
Suddenly, Houston is going from not having a movie theater downtown not long ago to having both Sundance Cinemas and an Alamo within easy access. It's quite a rebound from the sudden overnight shuttering of the Angelika Film Center in August 2010.
The property at 2901 Louisiana is being developed by Crosspoint Properities and there are already some illustrations of the proposed renovated exterior out there.
Alamo is also closing its theater at West Oaks with Edwards Cinemas building a new movie theater in that mall, a move that CultureMap forecast would happen.