Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, USA that is famous for its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinemagoing etiquette. It has screens in 22 locations, including fourteen (with five more being built) across Texas, in addition to locations in both Winchester and Ashburn, Virginia;San Francisco, California; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Kansas City, Missouri; Littleton, Colorado; La Vista, Nebraska: and Yonkers, New York. Others are planned to be built in Los Angeles;New York City;Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Chandler, Arizona. Its headquarters is located in Austin.

History

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was founded by Rice University alumni Tim and Karrie League at 409 Colorado St, in an Austin, Texas warehouse-district building that was being used as a parking garage. The company began as a second-run movie theater, and distinguished itself by the food and drink service offered inside the theater, including cold beers. The seating is arranged with rows of cabaret style tables in front of each row of seats, with an aisle between each row to accommodate waiter service. Customers write their orders on slips of paper, which are picked up by black-clad waiters. Soon after opening, the original downtown theater began offering occasional unique programming such as silent movies scored by local bands playing live accompaniment, food-themed films such as Like Water for Chocolate served with a dinner matching the meals shown on screen, and retrospectives of various directors and stars.