BY JOHNNY MARTIN
Sierra Vista Cinemas 16 has added a new feature to the movie going experience, adding a bar service that serves beer and wine to its guests to enjoy during movies.
“It’s an added dimension to the movie going experience,” General Manager Doug Her said. “You have some adults who like to enjoy a glass of wine or a beer with their movie, so it’s there if they want it and it kind of gives them that extra incentive to want to come enjoy a movie here.”
The bar has four beers on tap as well as five other beers available in bottles all set at a price of $6.50 for a pint size. There are also seven wines available for choosing, starting at a base price of $7.75 and increasing depending on the kind of wine as well as size.
This addition comes shortly after the recliner feature that was added to each of the theaters to improve comfortability. With the addition of recliners also came the reserved seating system that asks guests pick their seats when they buy tickets rather than general admission. That reserved seating system will help the theater monitor the alcohol that is sold to the guests.
“All of our theaters have reserved seating now because of the recliners so we use that as our main source to monitor the alcohol,” Her said. “We take their ticket and put into our system, their theater number, their row, and seat number so we know exactly where each drink is supposed to be.”
There is a two-drink limit for each person based off his or her seat number and there is a staff member going around and verifying that each drink is supposed to be in the seat that is registered in the system.
“We have a theater checker who checks every 30 minutes,” Her said. “We’ve actually already had a situation where we saw someone drinking but that seat wasn’t in our system so that’s when the monitoring system really comes into play and that way we can truly monitor it and keep the movie going experience enjoyable for everyone.”
The bar can begin serving drinks as early as 9 a.m. depending on when the first showtime is, but its final call each night is 11 p.m.
“With the recliners we put in, the reserved seating and the alcohol, we’re adding these new features or additions here and there as we go,” Her said. “The reason for doing all this is because we want to make sure we’re a place in the Clovis-Fresno area where families can come and enjoy a movie.”
The next “upgrade” to Sierra Vista Cinemas, an expanded food menu, will be coming in the near future.