Angry Voicemail We Got From an Alamo Drafthouse Customer

I'm a fellow Austinite and will vouch for the Drafthouse as well. The prices --while still obviously above raw cost-- are fair in comparison to the traditional competition. Four dollars for bottomless coke; six dollars for popcorn. They have a gigantic selection of brews and wines. There are various entrees available at the same price of a typical restaurant. The pre-show entertainment isn't just a thinly veiled sequence of advertising. It can be hit or miss --apparently they're _all_ edited by two fellas in an office somewhere-- but it's nothing like the "LOOK AT THIS AWESOME PRODUCT!" strategy. Regal FirstLook, I'm looking at you and don't particularly care if the tablet survived a thousand foot drop from the sky or not. Finally, they are able to cater to various crowds and match the atmosphere and the expected behaviour. Traditional movie-going? STFU and watch. "Quote-alongs" for the hits of the recent past? Feel free to revel in your shared heritage of Big Lebowski references, (polite and relevant) chatter welcome. Movie Marathons? Be prepared for Harry Potter supersaturation for the next 24 hours as you go from Sorcerer's Stone to Deathly Hallows. Don't have cable television but still want to enjoy The Walking Dead? There's a screening for that. Oh, and regarding their no talking and texting rules. Think they don't take it seriously? Think again :) [this video]

I keep my phone in my pocket unless I am answering a call. (I used to keep my phone in a holster unless I was answering a call, but "smart" phones have an inconvenient form factor for that. So I've modified my wardrobe to include more shirts that can hold a smart phone in one pocket while all the usual things I've put in my primary shirt pocket for years can stay in that pocket.) One of the most enjoyable aspects of dining with other people is the conversation over dinner. I would hate to miss out on that for telephone calls that I can answer later. Voice mail for the win. AFTER EDIT: Other comments here mention using phones in movie theaters. The response of the Austin Drafthouse theater in Austin, Texas is famous. The theater's video with a recorded comment from an ejected customer became a viral video on YouTube, [this video] reported on in various news outlets. (The language of the video is rather crude, but it makes the theater's point that it doesn't want customers who use their phones in the theater.)

I stopped going to theaters after visiting Alamo Drafthouse and literally every person around me was carrying on entire conversations during the movie. My wife asked after the movie was over, "Why didn't you fill out the card and turn those people in?" I replied, "You think they're going to believe me that every person around me was talking? When it's one person, they're the asshole. When it's everybody but me, I'm the asshole." If a theater chain that prides themselves on throwing people out who talk[1] can't keep people from shutting up then I have no hope it'll ever change. What was once considered extremely rude is now considered commonplace, apparently. 1: [this video]

Despite the 20+ mile drive I prefer Alamo to any other theatre in no small part due to their - depending on your view - strict but reasonable or utterly draconian [1] no using your phone rules. Having said that, when they got aggressive about expanding they shrunk their menu and removed local variations of both food and beer. Frankly, Alamo without a Honey I Shrimped The Pigs just ain't the same Alamo. I'd like them to let local managers add back a bit of flavor, maybe do pop ups in conjunction with local restaurants [2] and otherwise improve their food and drink offerings back to the quality they were when the chain started. Prior to the pandemic I still went to Alamo for my movies, but I ate beforehand. [1] [this video] [2] [link] Chris Shepherd's Southern Smoke Foundation is doing pop ups in conjunction with other businesses and donating the profits to help food service workers impacted by the pandemic; both financial aid and mental health care. Laudable and his food is good.

Sounds like you should be visiting Alamo Drafthouse. They take these things extremely seriously and are for the real fans. Here is their ad: [this video] Unfortunately since they already filed for bankruptcy a few years back they have had to cut costs and so their system for ordering food replaced (from pen and paper collected and an usher quietly brings you your food to QR code with...a cellphone) people are recently concerned that this has reduced their legendary quality. They still take audio and picture quality very seriously in my experience. Also where are you located? LA and NYC have legendary theaters that are truly a special treat. Its harder to replicate that in various states but there are still some states trying (ex. NJ being the actual birthplace of the American film industry has a few excellent theaters scattered throughout that dont tolerate poor quality/talkers) If your story is from AMC theaters just know that you are visiting the Mcdonalds of movie theaters.