Texas' Alamo Drafthouse Returns, Despite Bankruptcy Filing

Like a running back emerging from under a pile up, the Alamo Drafthouse movie chain is limping back onto the field of in-person entertainment.

Just last month, the Austin-based company announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and made public its plans for restructuring. Now the Alamo —once feted by Entertainment Weekly as "the best theater in America" and "the best theater in the world" by Wired, is returning.

Soon moviegoers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles will be treated to the Texas-style hospitality that has become an Alamo hallmark — with its wider assortment of food and libations, roomy seats and film geek festivals.

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Three cinemas in the Dallas area are set to reopen in June, according to a news release: Richardson, Lake Highlands and Cedars. The Denton, North Richland Hills and Irving's Las Colinas/Music Factory development locations will reopen for business in July.

Because of the restrictions lifted by the governor, Drafthouse venues in Houston, San Antonio and Austin are either open, or about to.

The announcement comes just as America heads into what's become known as "the summer blockbuster season," a time when schools let out, the weather heats up and Texans look for ways to cool off.

While the Drafthouse model reinvented the moviegoing experience (much in the same way that Starbucks created a new standard for the coffeeshop), the movie chain is raising the bar again with new COVID-era safety protocols, including upgrades in technology and HVAC systems. Patrons will also be able to book the cinemas for personal screenings and pre-order food and drinks.

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