Completely choked on getting the date right, it was two days ago. Doesn’t matter too much. When the first Alamo Drafthouse opened at 4th and Colorado, I was neck deep in all the crap happening with PowerComputing: the IPO, trying to bring our horrible outsourcing partner up to speed before they’d get ditched for Las Vegas and I think acclimating to working 9-6 after a year of being a closer via 12-9. I only got wind of the place through a conversation a couple co-workers were having in 1998 as they were off to a live Q&A with Russ Meyer and screening of Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill! Then I went to see The Matrix (second run) around late 1999 to check out how they did the food element.
Alamo has certainly come a long way from what was originally a second-run movie theater that only existed in downtown Austin with occasional special events. Today they’re a small, national chain which weathered Covid-19 well compared to others. Plus they have a few imitators; I’ve been to a couple and I wasn’t as impressed. Sure the food was more “exotic” than the staples Alamo has but their dedication to the movies were lacking. And to be fair, eating something more than the overpriced snacks the big chains have wasn’t something founder Tim League invented. What I would give him and his team credit for is marrying the food, booze and obsession together. It’s the latter element which gets my money because the VCR and cellphones have created a culture of assholes who think they have a right to talk during the movie. Throw in how Alamo creates experiences beyond just sitting in a dark theater when you could do the same for a shitload less at home, you have something I feel is unique to cities where film geeks congregate: Austin, LA and NYC are on the short list.
I hope I live long enough to celebrate Alamo turning 50 and I get to attend their 95th anniversary celebration of Star Wars!