Houston’s Oldest Art House Cinema Reopens With In-Seat Dining and Cocktail Service
The 85-year-old River Oaks Theatre reopened on Thursday, October 3, with a whole weekend of sold-out shows, film-themed cocktails, and a banh mi-style hotdog
Houston’s oldest movie theater, River Oaks Theatre, has officially reopened to the public, and in addition to its new digs, the cinema is offering a new dine-in service that goes well beyond candy and buttered popcorn (though they have that, too). Located in River Oaks Shopping Center, the theater opened on Thursday, October 3, with a sold-out screening of the new film Joker: Folie à Deux.
The new River Oaks Theatre dine-in experience makes it so that diners don’t have to limit themselves to eating before or after a show. Each plush seat in the theater has its own QR code that leads to the theater’s online menu, from which diners can request a server and order using a light-up button on the right of their seat. Food and drinks are then directly delivered to each diner.
River Oaks Theatre
Justin Yoakum, the culinary director of Culinary Khancepts, has curated a full menu with spicy veal and pork meatballs, lobster rolls, the saucy Luv Ya Blu Burger topped with French-fried onions and gorgonzola, pretzel bites served with beer cheese sauce and honey mustard, seafood cakes, and the banh mi-style Houston Hot Dog with Sriracha mayo and jalapeños as an ode to city. For dessert, there’s an ice cream sandwich made with homemade cookies, chocolate tarts, and a strawberry mascarpone cheesecake. Yoakum says that candy includes classics like M&M’s, but he also included chocolate-covered almonds to stray from the typical.
Drinks are where things get a little more thematic. Outfitted with ritzy bars with velvet-covered seating on both the first and second floors, the theater offers a menu of wine, beer, and cocktails inspired by Hollywood films like That Rug Really Tied the Room Together, a combination of vanilla vodka, Kahlua, and heavy cream that’s based on The Big Lebowski, and the You Wouldn’t Make Fun of It If…, a mix of vodka, gin, blue curacao, and Sprite that’s garnished with a paper cocktail umbrella similar to the one featured in David Fincher’s classic Zodiac.
Corey Watson
Corey Watson
Hospitality group Culinary Khancepts — which also operates Star Cinema Grill, Reel Luxury Cinemas in the Woodlands, and State Fare Kitchen & Bar — has led the theater reboot. Jason Ostrow, the vice president of development of Culinary Khancepts, and Robert Saucedo, the artistic director of River Oaks Theatre, say the group has worked with preservation groups for the past two years to redo the 85-year-old building’s infrastructure and restore much of its original art deco design and historical elements, including its iconic marquee, terrazzo flooring, and the statues that grace the main auditorium.
Thanks to the new sound, lighting, stage systems, and more refined seating, the theater is also now equipped to host live events, including concerts and comedy shows for more people. The main auditorium, which seats 237 people, features two retractable screens, a brand new projector, theatrical lighting, a new sound system, and an additional 10-foot cinema-scope screen to ensure the theater can play all kinds of films. Two upstairs auditoriums seat 50 people each, while an upstairs VIP private screening lounge with a projector screen that displays Blue Ray DVDs can seat 20.
Jack Opatrny
Jack Opatrny
River Oaks Theatre already has a lineup of spooky-themed films and comedy shows booked through October. The theater has created a host of new incentives to draw people in, including subscription services, themed clubs, and an opportunity to personalize one of 50 seats with engraved plaques. Saucedo says filmmaker Wes Anderson and actor Richard Linklater, a major supporter of the cinema, already have plaques on seats in their honor.
Attendees are encouraged to buy tickets online since shows are quickly selling out.
