Alamo Drafthouse — the hip Austin, Texas-based movie theater chain championed equally for its diversely appealing film offerings and its strict no-talking/texting policy — has announced plans to open two new locations in the South Bay.
The new theaters will be located in Santa Clara and Mountain View, joining the company’s longtime Bay Area outpost — Alamo Drafthouse New Mission — which has been a popular attraction for film fans since opening in San Francisco’s Mission District in 2015.
“By 2025, we’ll have been in San Francisco for 10 years, and this feels like the perfect way to celebrate the decade of support and enthusiasm we’ve received from Bay Area film fans,” says Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann. “It’s an area we love that has shown us a lot of love back, and we’re thrilled to be able to expand and provide our unique experience to more people.”
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The new theaters, which will show first-run movies as well as Alamo’s popular alternative programming, will take over spots previously run by ShowPlace ICON at Westfield Valley Fair shopping center in Santa Clara and the Village at San Antonio Center in Mountain View. The two ShowPlace locations closed after owner Kerasotes Theatres went out business earlier this year.
The new operators will be updating the theaters with “premium, reclining leather seats, a revamped culinary and bar experience and immersive themes unique to each location,” according to a news release. Both theaters will feature state-of-the-art 4K digital projection and Dolby Atmos sound systems.
The Alamo Drafthouse Mountain View will be located in a 64,500-square-foot space that will feature 10 auditoriums with approximately 1,100 luxury recliner seats.
The Alamo Drafthouse Westfield Valley Fair will also feature 10 auditoriums, only with a larger number of luxury recliner seats — 1,500 — housed in a slightly smaller 62,228-square-foot space.
The two locations will also offer full food and drink menus, just like at Alamo’s other theaters.
And, of course, Alamo’s famed (and strict) no-talking/texting/late arrival policies — which seek to maximize the movie-going experience for film devotees — will be in place at the theaters in Santa Clara and Mountain View.
In celebration of the new theaters opening in the South Bay, Alamo Drafthouse will also be giving away five free yearlong, two-person subscriptions to Alamo Season Pass — the chain’s monthly subscription service which entitles subscribers to one free movie per day at any of its theaters from coast to coast. Find more information at https://drafthouse.com/sf-bay.
Founded in Austin in 1997, Alamo Drafthouse now operates locations in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and approximately two dozen other metropolitan areas. It was bought earlier this year by Sony Pictures.
For more information on Alamo Drafthouse, visit drafthouse.com.