I've lived on the North Shore and visited Gloucester many times, but had never heard of this place…read more Living Social had an amazing deal to this place and the upcoming shows sounded good so I surprised my husband with a date night at this theater last night. We watched a great Japanese documentary about Quill, a guide dog. A tearjerker for sure! We are so glad we discovered this gem and my husband has already asked when we can come back! We almost walked by the building so here's a tip. Look for #21 (a white building) and go upstairs to the second floor. Go through the glass doors where you can grab your "tickets" and concessions all in one place.
The only way to describe this theater is eclectic, cool, and reminiscent of a Jordan's furniture showroom (in a good way). There are couches and chairs scattered everywhere, with TV trays, end tables, coffee tables, blankets, throw pillows and other comfortable amenities. Being the worrywart that I am, I kept telling my husband we should get there early to grab a good couch/seat. Not to worry. There were only about 8 other patrons on a Sunday night and there is ample seating no matter what the crowd. The screen is huge too so you would get a good view no matter where you are located. We sat at a couch with a huge coffee table in front that was equipped with napkins, magazines, and anything else you might need if you are eating or waiting for a movie to begin. Prior to the show, we picked up a burrito to share at the nearby Jalapenos. The yummy but messy burrito sadly didn't come with any utensils or napkins so the napkins came in handy for us! Not to mention, these were not cheap Market Basket napkins. They were the fancy big white Chinet napkins. (Hey, I used to be a party planner so I notice these details.)
The gentleman who greeted us was so friendly and made us feel at home. He pointed us to the concession stand which was another surprise. Snacks and treats were affordable! In fact, our voucher was for $40 in tickets and concession treats and we didn't even get to $40 after a box of popcorn to share, 2 big bags of candy, 4 sodas (2 to go), and two tickets. For example, candy bars are $1 each while bags of Swedish fish and big boxes of Milk Duds and similar candy were $3. They also have organic pre-bagged popcorn as well as freshly popped. They have a variety of toppings to shake onto your popcorn, such as salt and vinegar and parmesan garlic.
It is more relaxed and casual than a normal movie theater and the couches are so comfy that we didn't want to leave. The theater invites you to bring in your own food/drink as long as it is not something they sell and it doesn't stink up the place too much. They do sell an amazing selection of sodas from Pellegrino's blood orange sparkling soda to Stewart's sodas in glass bottles. They even have an old-fashioned fridge that houses the cold beverages. They've also recently added wine and beer it seems. The website mentioned chocolate covered bananas so we'll have to check that out next time. Upon leaving, you can recycle your glass bottles. The place seemed pretty clean so I love how you're not stepping on popcorn kernels and your shoes are not sticking to soda-y floors like other places. The customers definitely seem very respectful as this is more of an indie film crowd. It's almost like watching a movie at a friend's house who has a large living room!
Tickets for adults are $9.75 and they have a handy movie schedule online. They even have operas, comedy nights, film festivals, and more. If you become a member, you also get to utilize their lending library, which seemed quite extensive. Oh, and the theater is nicely air conditioned but not super cold like other ones where you need to bring a sweater. All in all, a wonderful place for a cozy date night. We can't wait to go back! (But don't rule this out as a place to go to the movies stag either. In fact, there were a lot of people seated alone. They seemed to be enjoying the movie sprawled out on the couches just as much and this is really a non-judgmental crowd!)
