South Bay film fans are rejoicing at news reports that Alamo Drafthouse — purveyors of both first-run movies and vastly eclectic cinematic offerings — are set to open two more Bay Area theaters.
The locations will reportedly be in Santa Clara and Mountain View, according to an article from the San Francisco Chronicle that cites a San Francisco Business Times report from Aug. 14.
Attempts by this newspaper to confirm this news have so far been unsuccessful, with the theater chain’s local publicist Julie Ritcher saying that she doesn’t “have any info about the theaters in the South Bay at this time.”
Alamo currently operates one theater in the Bay Area — in the Mission District in San Francisco. It opened that spot in 2015 and has since became a magnet for movie buffs from all around the Bay Area, who are drawn to the five-screen theater for an alternative programming schedule that includes Terror Tuesday (a weekly focus on horror films) and Weird Wednesday (a series that definitely lives up to its billing).
Yet, the showtimes for those series tend to start after 9 p.m., making for a long drive home for South Bay fans — especially in the middle of the work week. Opening locations in Mountain View and Santa Clara could change that drastically and entice even more Silicon Valley movie-lovers to partake in the Alamo offerings.
Those locations would reportedly be at the old ShowPlace Icon theaters at the Village at San Antonio Center in Mountain View and Westfield Valley Fair shopping center in Santa Clara. Those two ShowPlace were shuttered after its owners Kerasotes Theatres went out business recently.
Founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, Alamo steadily made a name for itself with its diverse programming, food and drink offerings (which are delivered to your seat) and a no talking/texting/late arrivals policy focused on maximizing the cinema experience.
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The chain, which was recently bought by Sony Pictures, currently operates locations in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and approximately two-dozen metropolitan areas.
