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The movie theater company opening at Liberty Center is not only opening its first viewing screens in Ohio, it’s also trying a dual concept its never tried anywhere else before, said Fred Meyers, vice president of CineBistro.
Alabama-based Cobb Theatres plans to open in October the Cobb Liberty Luxury 15 and CineBistro at the approximately $350 million Liberty Center development.
The two-level movie theater will have 15 total screens, but films can either be viewed at CineBistro, a dinner-and-movie theater, or at the Luxury concept, a more traditional movie-going format with concessions.
Also at the about 95,000-square-foot building will be a full-service restaurant called Cobbster’s Kitchen and Bar.
“We’re really redefining the movie-going experience in Liberty,” Meyers said.
Both theater types will offer reserved seating with tickets available for purchase online beforehand.
However, CineBistro is for those ages 21 and over only, he said. Guests are asked to arrive about 30 minutes before the movie time. Customers can watch the show from reclining leather love seats with swivel dining tables. They can order from a full dining and drinks menu and be served by wait staff until the movie starts.
Ordering a meal is not required to watch a movie at the CineBistro side. There’s also a bar and lounge area open to CineBistro movie ticket holders or anyone at Liberty Center even if they’re not entering the theater.
In addition to playing first-run movies, CineBistro will also play art and independent films, shows streamed live such as the Metropolitan Opera, and space is available for private events and conferences, officials said.
“I think CineBistro really has redefined and created a movie-going experience for movie-goers who maybe stopped going,” he said. “I think we brought a demographic back into the movie theater experience by creating this really nice experience that focuses on quality. There’s no stale nacho chips here.”
Meanwhile, the luxury movie theater side is open to customers of any age and will offer individual leather reclining seats. Cobb Luxury will also have its own bar and lounge area in addition to a full concession stand with favorites such as popcorn, candy and soda.
One of the luxury auditoriums will have seats with D-BOX simulation technology and for movies adapted for the service, it will create moving and motion effects designed with the film, Meyers said.
Altogether, the Luxury and CineBistro concepts will seat about 1,500 movie watchers at 15 different screens.
“The dynamics of Liberty and Liberty Center and the demographics in the area and the size of the project…. it made sense that there’s a need for both,” he said.
Hiring is underway. About 175 total jobs will be created including concessions, ushers, box office staff, cooks, supervisors and café staff, as well as servers, bartenders, bussers/runners, concierge/host, cooks and dishwashers, according to the company.
A three-day job fair continues today (Sunday). Apply between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at Cobb’s temporary hiring office, located at 7115 Liberty Centre Drive behind McDonald’s in Liberty Twp.
Liberty Center is the mega complex under construction now in Liberty Twp. at the crossroads of Liberty Way, Ohio 129 and Interstate 75. The first phase consists of just over 1 million-square-feet of shopping, dining, office and residential space. Dick's Sporting Goods and department store Dillard's are planned to open at Liberty Center on Oct. 8. Then, a grand opening celebration that will see the opening of more stores and restaurants is scheduled for Oct. 22.
To date, Cobb Theatres owns about 20 movie theaters in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia, according to the company's website cobbtheatres.com.
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