Just in time for the summer movie season, RoadHouse Cinemas is getting a sequel.
Tucson’s first dine-in movie theater is opening a new location in Scottsdale and hopes to expand in Tucson as well, said co-owner Scott Cassell.
“We would love to find another location in Tucson if we could, and we’re actually looking at some other potential sites that might work for us,” he said.
RoadHouse Cinemas offers first-run movies with gourmet meals and all-recliner seating.
Cassell and his business partners, Josh Snider and Vincent Mast, opened RoadHouse Cinemas in October 2014. More than $2 million was spent on the theater complex at 4811 E. Grant Road that once housed Grand Cinemas Crossroads 6.
While expansion was always part of the plan, business has been better than expected, Cassell said.
“Tucson has really embraced us and we’re thankful for their support,” he said. “People just love the recliners, the from-scratch kitchen and full bar.”
The Scottsdale location — which involved about a $4 million investment and will employ 125 people — was a former 11-screen theater operated by UltraStar Cinemas, a small theater chain with screens in Arizona and California, owners said.
Initially only eight screens will be open so the theater will be ready by the start of the summer movie season, with another three screens ready by fall, Cassell said.
“We’re doing a complete renovation, so the interior looks much like the RoadHouse in Tucson,” he said. “We’ll have all the same programs and concepts up in Scottsdale that have worked so well for us here.”
That includes unlimited bowls of popcorn, unlimited soda refills and a loyalty T-shirt program, along with special events tied to movie showings or themes.
Unlike in Tucson, RoadHouse Cinemas in Scottsdale will be competing with other dine-in theater options from Studio Movie Grill, iPic and AMC. But owners said there’s room for what they are offering.
“We’re probably in the middle between Studio Movie Grill and iPic in terms of cost factor,” Cassell said. “We think we’ll fit a good segment of that market and meet the demand up there.”
As to why RoadHouse is expanding into Scottsdale before opening another Tucson location, owners said certain restrictions make it difficult to find a good spot for a new theater.
Along with finding a suitable building or a location where something can be built to suit, first-run theaters have to be at least three miles apart because of restrictions on competition, Cassell said.
“Another thing is strip shopping centers, where some national chains have a provision in their lease saying they don’t want movie theaters because they’re considered ‘parking pigs,’” he said. “You go into a movie and sit there for two hours.”
But while they wait for another opportunity in Tucson, Cassell said they continue to come up with specials and promotions for their customers — including daily lunch specials, happy hour, $6 tickets all day on Tuesdays, and $4 tickets for seniors before 4 p.m. on Wednesdays.
“It’s one the ways that we want to try and pay Tucson back and say thanks for your patronage,” he said.
