Second Street District hoping for a lift from new arthouse movie theater

The coming attraction in Austin's Second Street District is getting plenty of buzz.

Violet Crown Cinema, specializing in documentaries as well as art, indie and international films, will open its doors at 434 W. Second St. on Friday, after nearly two years of planning and construction.

Nearby businesses and AMLI, which owns two apartment buildings and is the district's property manager, are hopeful the theater's arrival — combined with the recent opening of the W Austin Hotel and the ACL Live venue just a block away — will draw more people to the area, where retail space is now 80 percent occupied.

"It adds that last puzzle piece for us," said Julie Sutton-McGurk, who handles marketing for the district. "You can shop, you can eat, you can stay down here."

"The Alamo Drafthouse locations on Sixth Street and South Lamar draw people to those areas," added AMLI development manager Craig Brockman, "and we think the Violet Crown will have the same effect."
The manager of Málaga, a tapas bar downstairs from the Violet Crown, says the theater should draw much-needed foot traffic to the stretch of Second Street between Guadalupe and San Antonio streets. "Our block just doesn't see as many people as the other blocks," LisaMarie Pinder said. "When we moved here two years ago we doubled our size, but we haven't really doubled our business."

Theater customers will get four hours of free parking in the adjacent AMLI garage, a perk one former Second Street merchant says should be a tremendous help. "People don't know where to park when they come to Second Street," said Jeff Kirk, who shuttered his Kirk vintage furniture and home decor gallery on Guadalupe Street in late 2009 to focus on his Internet business. That confusion, he says, led potential customers to go elsewhere.

"There were some weekdays that would go by, and not a single person would walk in during the nine hours we were open," Kirk said.

Kirk also believes more should be done to help people navigate the district.

Sutton-McGurk says maps are in the works and soon will be in the hands of merchants. Directional signage is being discussed, she says, as well.

Violet Crown features four screens, with 50 seats or fewer in each screening room. There's also a lobby bar and patio — no ticket necessary — serving "heavy appetizers" such as french fries, pizza and spring rolls.
"This is designed to be a place where people can hang out, whether they're going to a movie or not," owner Bill Banowsky said.

Food and drink offerings are expected to account for about half of the theater's revenue, Banowsky says, attracting customers even on nonpeak days early in the week. Hours will flex based on demand.
"My goal would be for the theater to be open 24 hours a day," he said, "but I don't believe that's feasible right now."

Tickets are $9 for a matinee, $11 weekdays and $13 weekends, and customers can reserve seats online.
Spots in the front row feature specially made ottomans, which Banowsky expects will make them the first to go.

"The goal of the front row was to make that the best seat in the house," he said. "You'll have a best-in class presentation, sight and sound."

The new theater is five minutes from a pair of Alamo locations, but founder Tim League isn't worried.
"I like the concept of Violet Crown," League said. "There's a need downtown for a venue playing more arthouse films."

League says he's even been checking with Banowsky to make sure they don't double-book flicks.
The closing of the Dobie Theatre last August left the Regal Arbor Cinema in North Austin as the city's only reliable home for art and indie films.

But Austin, Banowsky believes, can indeed support two arthouses. "The Dobie was an older theater built in a very awkward space for a cinema," he said. "As is the case with many theaters, time passed it by.
"It was not inexpensive to build the Violet Crown, and I intend to be here a long time."