These Conway movie theater upgrades will increase kid-friendliness, enhance experience
Conway residents have something to look forward to: The B&B Theatres’ Conway 12 Cinema will be seeing some major renovations in the near future.
Once completed, the theater will have recliners seats, bigger screens and a children’s theater equipped with its own play area.
The theater is currently closed temporarily due to the coronavirus, but it could reopen as soon as June. Once it is reopened from the virus, B&B Theatres’ Dennis McIntire said it will not close again as the renovations move forward.
On Monday, McIntire briefed Conway City Council on the planned $4 million renovations to the theater located near the Highway 501 Walmart. McIntire said the work will begin as soon as it is safe to do so.
Council voted to reimburse the theater’s owners some fees and utilities as an incentive for the work.
“I’m thankful y’all wish to invest further in us,” Mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy said.
B&B, headquartered in Missouri, took over the theater last year after Frank’s Theater closed. McIntire said while the coronavirus recovery process could take a year, he expects the theater to reopen by July. The renovations will move forward too.
Over all, The renovations will give the theater a more 1920s art deco look. A pizza oven and fryer will be installed to expand the food menu, new signs will be installed to help guests find their movie and the overall visual/audio quality will be improved.
While the recliners will be more comfortable, they will allow for fewer seats in each theater.
McIntire presented three new concepts for individual theaters inside the Conway 12 location. The first concept will have wall-to-wall screens in two theaters and every seat will be a recliner. The second concept is similar to the flagship theater B&B opened and can be used for party rentals or smaller movie showings.
The third concept is for kids movies. It includes bright colored recliners and has a giant playground inside of it for kids to enjoy ahead of the movie starting.
“We are very excited about this concept and it is a great thing for kids with small children,” McIntire said.
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 5:48 PM.
