New Hyde Park theater offers dinner, movie at one location

Dinner and a movie becomes one-stop shopping Friday with the opening of CineBistro at Hyde Park Village, a six-screen state-of-the-art theater integrating the two experiences.

Cobb Theatres gutted an existing 28,000-square-foot movie house on Swann Avenue which, during its operation under three chains through the years, was a drawing card for the open-air shopping area now in the midst of redevelopment.

Jeremy P. Welman, chief operating officer of Birmingham, Ala.-based Cobb Theatres, said the upscale concept will provide an intimate experience and is an ideal fit for Hyde Park.

Hyde Park Village's history, the large and sophisticated market, and the CineBistro theater concept will equate to success, Welman said.

"Dinner and a movie is sort of part of American culture, and rarely have we had an opportunity to do it at the same place," Welman said.

Cobb, with 193 screens in 14 locations, primarily in the Southeast, opened its first CineBistro at Miami's Dolphin Mall. The Tampa Bay area debut came in September 2008 at The Grove, a Wesley Chapel shopping center. Cobb recently opened a CineBistro in Atlanta, and others are planned for Virginia and Colorado.

Most nearby shopping areas such as Channelside and Ybor City have movie theaters. Hyde Park Village tenants welcome CineBistro to fill the void.

"We're beyond excited," said Rene Neff, founder and owner of Downtown Dogs, a pet boutique at 1631 W Snow Circle, behind the Wine Exchange Restaurant. "It's the missing piece to our puzzle. I think it's going to make Hyde Park a lot more dynamic than we are now."

Renovation of the theater building at 1609 W. Swann Ave. began in January and required more than a facelift to meet CineBistro's needs. One of the original auditoriums was sacrificed to accommodate a critical piece of the CineBistro concept - a large kitchen.

The menu at the theater for those 21 and older includes wine, draft beer and cocktails. Servers submit food and beverage orders via wireless handheld devices, and patrons are served before the movie begins.

Given the expansive CineBistro menu, some question the obvious, Welman has learned.
"Yes," he said, "you can still get popcorn and a Coke and candy."