
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 6, 1995                   TAG: 9508040008
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: F2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DINNER AND A MOVIE REDEFINED

The idea of eating a meal while watching a movie - other than for couch potatoes munching in front of the VCR - may seem a novel idea to Roanoke cinema patrons. But folks in a few other Virginia cities have been doing it for years.

The Cinema Cafe at Virginia Beach has been in operation for a decade, according to the manager, Lynn Duwa.

In a city that lacks a true downtown, The Cinema Cafe is in a suburban strip shopping center, but close enough to offices so that the cafe finds it profitable to serve lunch.

Duwa said her patrons order from a light menu during the evening shows.

Another, the Commodore Theater in the Olde Towne section of downtown Portsmouth, will celebrate its sixth anniversary in December.

Barbara Kimmitt, the theater's manager and assistant to the owner, said full meals are served on the main floor, where traditional seats have been ripped out to make room for dining tables and about 150 chairs.

The conventional-style theater seats remain in the balcony, where only popcorn, candy and sodas are available. The balcony, which has 320 seats, is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Patrons can order dinner starting 45 minutes before showtime and during the first hour of the film, Kimmitt said.

The Commodore Theater usually sells out on weekends, when it has two shows an evening. When it has a popular film, like the recent "First Knight" starring Sean Connery, every night is a sellout, according to Kimmitt. The dinner theater is open every day of the year.

Kimmitt said it took three years to restore the old Art Deco theater to its original condition. It has a single screen.

The New American Theater in the Phoebus section of downtown Hampton shows mostly second-run films, but sometimes offers stage presentations.

The manager, Richard Carr, said the theater was remodeled and updated about eight years ago, when menu service was installed. Carr said the New American serves light meals during shows in a manner similar to Cinema Cafes at Newport News and Virginia Beach.

Charlottesville is planning a downtown entertainment center adjacent to the Omni Hotel, according to James Gahres, that city's director of economic development.

He said the complex on Charlottesville's downtown mall will have seven movie screens and an indoor ice rink.

The idea is to bring people downtown at night, especially families with children. He said the enclosed ice rink will open in the early morning and continue into the evening, and the theater will have evening shows. The city hopes that merchants along the downtown mall will extend their hours as well.

Gahres said developers are seeking a use for the old Paramount Theater downtown that closed many years ago. He does not expect it to become another theater because of the new movie house.

by CNB