Incoming movie theater/grill fights liquor laws

When Kevin Roudebush found out Idaho’s liquor laws wouldn’t allow him to operate his Cinema Grill the same way he operates a similar theater in Oregon, he about packed up and left.

The Cinema Grill – gearing up for a September opening in Nampa’s Karcher Mall – will combine movies and dining in one stop, and the beverage choices will include beer and wine.

But under current Idaho laws, movie theaters are allowed to either serve alcohol or admit people under 21 – not both.

The Flicks in Boise and a few other theaters in Sun Valley are the exception to that rule – they have been around long enough that when the Legislature addressed the law in 2006, they were grandfathered in.

Roudebush wanted to operate the theater under a mixed use permit, meaning the theater would cater to families during the day, not serving alcohol, but then turn on the taps at night and start carding for the evening shows. But Idaho law doesn’t allow that type of permit.

The concept (which Roudebush says is more restaurant than bar) loses some of its appeal without the alcohol, so when he found out he and partner Matt Phillips wouldn’t be allowed to proceed as planned, he was stunned.

“I considered not moving forward at all and just not doing business, but I have high hopes that there are reasonable people around so that we can go and do that [get the mixed-use permit] over time, whether we get a temporary permit or in the long run get the legislation changed that would allow us to operate,” he said.

 “I would like to see them be able to have a beer and wine license,” Nampa Mayor Tom Dale said. “It’s a restaurant setting, and there are restaurants all over the state that serve beer and wine with their meals. It is a movie theater, but they’re serving full dinners, so I think the state code in that area probably needs some revision so we’re encouraging this type of creative entrepreneurship.”

Unless the governor’s office grants a temporary permit, the theater will open in September with a 21-and-up policy.

Roudebush sees a possible upside to the no-minors-allowed rule.

He said there are movie-lovers who stay away from theaters because they’re crowded with kids and teenagers, so the Cinema Grill might offer an attractive alternative.

The partners selected the Karcher Mall site because “the opportunity was there and because the mall was very motivated to get somebody in there,” Roudebush said.

The mall’s vacancies, including the pending closure of Macy’s, don’t bother him.

“I think we’re a destination location, meaning people seek us out and go directly to us, so being in a mall isn’t a big advantage to us,” he said. “…Everybody in the mall could leave and we’d be okay.”

Right now the partnership is working on $200,000 renovating Karcher Mall’s existing two-screen movie theater, which has been out of operation for 12 years. They’re rebuilding the lobby, adding a kitchen, reinstalling seats to make room for tables, putting in new screens and more. Financing comes from the mall’s tenant improvement allowance, Wells Fargo and the partners’ private funds.

The theater will play second-run movies, charging $3 for admission and $6 and up for meals.