Orono Theater Will Start Serving Alcohol At Weekend Movie Screenings

A lot has changed in the year Spotlight Cinemas has been under new ownership, and operating as Black Bear Cinemas.

Read More: Spotlight Cinemas In Orono Now Under New Ownership With New Name

There have been changes to the theaters themselves, with the addition of new "themed" theaters, such as a Space-themed theater and a comic-themed theater.

Read More: Holy Comic Books, Batman! Orono Theater Pays Tribute To Superhero

But Nathan Paris, General Manager at Black Bear Cinemas says there's another change coming, and this one doesn't have to do with the way the theaters look. Instead, this change will be to what beverages they serve, namely the addition of some alcoholic choices, but a very specific times and days.

"Our goal from day one has been to enhance the moviegoing experience for everyone in the area. Most of what we have we have done thus far has been enhancing the experience through art, theming out our theaters, and different events. Now the parents can enjoy an adult beverage while their kids get to experience our themed theater experience."

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Paris says Black Bear Cinemas has also been changing up it's menu, too.

"We have more than Popcorn now! We have been experimenting with additional food items the past year and now you will be able to enjoy them with a Beer or Seltzer! We have Chicken Tenders, French Fries, Mozzarella Sticks, Mac and cheese bites, Nachos, and Pretzels."

They plan to debut the new "adult" beverage options this coming weekend.

"We will have a mix of national brands and local craft beers. Our original plan was to include wine and bread for the opening weekend of Gladiator. We decided to hold off on wine at first and will add it if we start getting requests for it."

Paris says in order to maintain their goal of being a family-friendly theater, they have put some protocols into place to ensure things don't get too rowdy. The adult beverages will only be offered during the weekends, and there will be a limit to how many folks can purchase.

"We will always consider ourselves a Family Oriented Theater, which we have taken into consideration every step of this process. We are starting out selling alcohol on Fridays and Saturdays only. We will also have a 2-drink max, and only 1 per person for each transaction. We have several new policies to make sure everyone is being responsible during their movie."

He says Black Bear Cinemas is one of the first movie theaters in the area to offer some 21+ options, and that's something they're enthusiastic about.

"Sometimes Maine can be behind in the trends in certain industries. Most theaters you visit in other states offer alcohol already. We are excited to be the first ones to offer it in this area!"

Sales of the new beverages will start Friday, November 22nd, just in time for Gladiator and Wicked. Paris says they will be selling Beer and Hard Seltzers!