Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The New York State Assembly passed a series of measures on Thursday, part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget agreement, that would allow movie theatres and cinemas to sell liquor.
As it stands right now, beer and wine sales are permitted for movie theatres and cinemas in New York State. And while some choose to take advantage of alcohol sales, others weigh the pros and cons.
"We have a very limited refreshment area," notes Ray Barker, Program Director for North Park Theatre on Hertel Avenue in Buffalo.
"No matter how much [space, time and cost] we would dedicate to beer or wine, it's not going to be able to compete with the pubs that are practically next door to us, that have considerably more offerings. There's also the issue that we haven't seen real evidence that this drives people out to theaters. Regal and other corporate chains have had beer for years, and there's no evidence that suggests that it's going to drive people to theaters. So you have to weigh the cost of the permit and the cost of the product to make a determination and so far, we haven't thought it was the right fit for us."
Couple those concerns with the fact that takeout cocktails from bars and restaurants will continue as part the state budget, it does appear that selling alcohol at certain cinemas may not make the most financial sense for those just trying to get people back into the movie theater since the pandemic.
The take-out cocktail rule was set to expire next year after the state temporarily authorized the sale of to-go alcoholic drinks during the pandemic.
Barker acknowledges that most Western New Yorkers theatre operators who screen the latest movies are in favor of alcohol sales and some have been campaigning on this particular issue for years. However, he suspects that the legislature may be looking to correct injustices.
"I think the legislature acted to correct an obvious unfairness in the law, because it made no sense for performing arts theatres like Shea's Buffalo to be able to offer their customers champagne and so forth, while not allowing theaters to do the same. So I think the revision is a step in the right direction."
This legislation comes with guardrails, which includes one drink per customer and the theatres can't sell any more alcohol once the credits roll in the last showing, which Barker says makes sense.
"Theatre owners have basically said that customers are not buying more than one beer or one wine anyway. So I think that's pretty much par for the course. But it is good that they're thinking about it because obviously you don't want people intoxicated at at a movie theater, that would wouldn't make sense."
We reached out early Friday afternoon to Dipson Theatres, which operate several theatres in Western New York, including the Transit Drive-In in Lockport, as they are theatres who do sell beer and wine. However, we did not receive a response.
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