The Regal Arroyo Grande Stadium 10 has applied for a conditional use permit to serve alcoholic beverages to patrons 21 years or older.
The city’s planning commissionwill decide on Tuesday whether or not their Regal movie theater will be a part of that group.
San Luis Obispo and Atascadero theaters already sell beer and wine at their concession stands.
"With the experiences so far with other places, we have an expectation that it should work just fine for us in our city,” said Teresa McClish, Community Development Director for the City of Arroyo Grande.
The idea is getting mixed reviews from movie-goers.
“I mean they have a lot of drinking in this area, but to have it in the theaters…I’ve been here all my life so this is a shocker to me," said Linda Blanco, a Five Cities resident.
"For me personally, I couldn’t see sitting there drinking in a theater and then getting in a car and driving home, I don’t think it’s a great idea in that sense, but I have no real problem with it,” said Larry Armstrong, a Pismo Beach resident.
The proposed project say the proposed project would add alcohol sales to a venue heavily traveled by minors.
If approved, the permit comes with some conditions.
“The movie personnel management has to be trained to provide alcohol sales, recognize any issues and address those issues,” said McClish.
No more than two alcoholic beverages can be sold to one person and staff would have to monitor theaters every thirty minutes.
Local police would be in charge of enforcing those rules.
"Our chief of police has the authority to review it after a year and make sure it’s going okay. Otherwise, we’ll revisit the permit,” said McClish.
The planning commission meeting will start at 6:00 p.m. at the City Council Chambers on Tuesday. The public is invited to weigh in.
