by BRAD ROLLINS

Taking a page from Alamo Drafthouse’s playbook, Texas Cinema Corp. plans to overhaul the business model for its tiny downtown movie theater to offer beer and wine service and casual dining.

Located two city blocks from the courthouse square and less than a block from Texas State University, Showcase Cinema will be closed to patrons under the age of 18 and recast as a “more mature entertainment experience,” said Mitchell Roberts, the San Marcos-based company’s vice president. The plan includes physical renovations to the diminutive 9,500-square-foot building at 321 N. LBJ Drive, including removing seating and adding tables for the venue’s three screens.

“What we are planning on doing is renovating the facility, making it nicer and making it kind of more like an Alamo Drafthouse,” Roberts told the San Marcos Planning & Zoning Commission this week.

On Tuesday, the planning commission approved Texas Cinema’s application for conditional use permits to serve alcohol at Showcase and at its 12-screen Starplex Cinema on Wonder World Drive. Unlike Showcase, Starplex theater will continue to be open to movie-goers of all ages, Roberts said.

“The point is to make Showplace a different type of entertainment venue for the 18-and-up crowd … while Starplex will still be a very family-oriented theater. We want to offer more differentiation and options for customers when they come to watch a movie,” Roberts said.

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