New Jersey Needs One of These Cool Movie Theaters ASAP

This was unlike any other theater experience I've ever had.

You've been to the movies before, but I bet you've never seen a movie the way I did on Friday night.  Lots of theaters have gotten on board with reclining seats and food service during shows, but none have done it quite like how Alamo Drafthouse does.

What is the Alamo Drafthouse?

Alamo Drafthouse is a movie theater that brings a whole new experience to theatergoers.  As I mentioned earlier, they have reclining seats and full dinner and drink (yes, alcohol too) service during the movie.

Your seats come with menus and have lights under the armrests to read them.  When you know what you want, you just write your menu down on an order card and the server takes your card, and the food is delivered.  There's no interruption to the movie at all!

There are also fun preshow screenings that start 30 minutes before your movie, and they're all curated to fit into the movie you're seeing.  Alamo Drafhouse also does events where they show old favorites with props.

On Friday, I saw Pearl; a horror story about a young woman living on a farm who dreams of being a movie star.  The preshow was tailored to fit the theme of the movie; for example, Pearl lives on a farm with an alligator, and there was a scene with a scarecrow, so the preshow featured clips of a movie from the early 1900s about raising baby alligators, an old Knorr soup advertisement with a scarecrow, and trailers for movies they thought Pearl would star in (like StraitJacket with Joan Crawford.)

The theaters are also smaller and more intimate, and they have strict rules about no texting or talking during the film, which I appreciated.  The lobby is decked with cool movie posters and other displays, and there's a bar to hang out in.

Where is the closest Alamo Drafhouse to New Jersey?

As of right now, there aren't any Alamo Drafthouses in New Jersey.  The closest one is at 2636 Hylan Boulevard on Staten Island.  It's about an hour's drive away.  There are other locations in NYC in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

I think an Alamo Drafhouse would be a perfect addition to New Jersey.  They could easily fit one in North Jersey in the American Dream Mall, or, how about where the old AMC Seacourt was?

You can check out some pictures from my experience at the Alamo Drafthouse below.