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Cinematic venue provides dinner and movie in one

This Clearwater movie house may not be state-of-the-art, but it has its own special charm and for a good price.

By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published July 23, 2006

CLEARWATER - Well shiver me timbers. Clearwater, once again, has a first-run movie house.

At the Clearwater Cinema Caf, you can yo ho ho, sip some rum, nibble on grouper fingers and watch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and other first-run flicks. This weekend, Monster House joins Pirates at the 9,000-square-foot venue, tucked in a small strip center on the northeast corner of Sunset Point Road and U.S. 19 N.

"Tell people to look for us in the big, ugly, yellow shopping center," said Cinema Caf owner Larry Greenbaum, 53. "They'll know right away where it is."

It may not be as pretty, or have the stadium seating, giant screens and state-of-the-art acoustics of the megaplexes, but Cinema Caf has its own special charm. Theatergoers can drink and dine at a round table while watching the movies from their leather swivel chairs. And the admission price - $6.50, and $5 for children, students and seniors - will appeal to the financially savvy.

"The price is incredible," said Libby Smith, 57, of Clearwater. "It was only $23 for the four of us."

Senior citizen Linda Davisson of St. Pete Beach, agreed.

"This is my first time here," she said. "The sound and picture were good no matter where you sat. The hamburger and fries were great. And the $5 admission was a real bargain."

It's been a few years since Clearwater has had a first-run movie theater. After the glitzy AMC Woodlands 20 megaplex opened in Oldsmar in March 2000, several area theaters faltered and failed.

The Cinema Caf was the only Clearwater movie theater to survive, showing discounted second-run movies - those that had already made the rounds - to a niche audience who came for the beer and cheap tickets priced at $2.50 and $3.

Recently, skyrocketing rents and other costs made Greenbaum rethink his business.

"I had seen where other cinema cafes had done well with the first-run films and frankly, a lot of people were content to just wait until the movies came out on DVD. I was getting squeezed out by the video stores."

So on June 28, he opened with the first-run of Superman Returns.

"Business has been up substantially," he said. "We've pretty much been sold-out on the weekends."

The theater opened 20 years ago as the Cinema "n" Drafthouse; the name was later changed to Clearwater Cinema Caf.

Each of the two, smoke-free theaters seats 150. There is a full liquor bar. The menu includes appetizers, burgers, pizza, seafood, salads, Tex-Mex fare and sandwiches.

The venue also has served as home to the Coconuts Comedy Club on Friday and Saturday nights. But the comedy club and all live entertainment performances will be relocated to a new venue at 2950 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd., in Clearwater beginning mid-August.

Leslie Hence, a Largo resident, wanted to take her two grandchildren from San Antonio, Texas, somewhere special during their visit, so she came to the Cinema Caf on Thursday night.

"The food here is really good and I like the idea of dinner with a movie. We came here occasionally before, but now that they've switched to first run, we'll probably be coming a lot more," she said.

[Last modified July 22, 2006, 20:21:58]