South Shore’s first multiplex theater to open this month
By LOIS KINDLE
If all goes as planned, residents from the Riverview area south to northern Manatee County will soon have their own ultramodern, multiscreen theater just minutes from home.
Goodrich Quality Theaters is expected to open Riverview 14 GDX by mid-March at 10550 East Bay Road, Gibsonton. Employees are busy putting the finishing touches on what promises to be a popular destination for cinema fans of all ages.
Goodrich Quality Theaters is expected to open the Riverview 14 GDX multiplex by mid-March at 10550 East Bay Road, Gibsonton, just west of I-75 near the Super Walmart on Gibsonton Drive.
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“We’re very excited to start showing movies, selling popcorn and spreading happiness in our state-of-the-art, family friendly, 14-screen theater,” said Martin Betz, Goodrich’s chief operating officer. “We are committed to bringing every customer an unmatched theater experience.”
Both large and small details will set this theater apart, he said.
Riverview 14 GDX (giant digital experience) will feature 4K digital projection onto two 70 by 40 foot, floor-to-ceiling screens, with sound powered by the Premium Dolby ATMOS system. It has 60-70 speakers with discreet channels to provide viewers with an incredible “you are there” experience.
The other 12 screens vary in width from 35 to 45 feet. Scores of speakers will provide sound through the Trinnov Ovation system, which also produces an amazing sound experience. The walls, floors and ceilings of each auditorium are soundproofed.
There’s more.
The $20-million theater’s 1,665 seats are plush, electrically controlled recliners with snack trays and cup holders for refreshments. All seating is reserved online, through a smartphone app or in person at one of the theater’s indoor kiosks or from cashiers inside the lobby.
Shelby Eisenhut, an assistant manager at the Riverview 14 GDX, and co-workers ready the lobby for the theater’s mid-March opening.
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The Riverview 14 GDX large concession stand will feature Pepsi products and free, self-serve refills on any size cup. In addition to a wide selection of candy, pizza, nachos, hot dogs, frozen carbonated beverages and more, it will offer 50-cent refills on all popcorn sales. Beer and wine “screen taps” will also be available at the concession.
The 66,000-square-foot multiplex will also include a gastropub and bar called FEATURES, a casual sit-down restaurant featuring freshly prepared, high-end bar foods, including gourmet burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads, salads and beverages. Developed by celebrity chef Brian Duffy, the menu will be served for lunch, dinner and late-night dining seven days a week.
Goodrich’s Frequent Moviegoer Club will reward folks who patronize the theater regularly. The points they earn can be redeemed for free concession items, movie tickets and more. New members get a free soft drink or popcorn simply for signing up. To learn more, visit www.goodrichqualitytheaters.com/fmg.
The Riverview 14 GDX will show at least 14 titles of first-run films, Sunday Flashback movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Grease and $1 summer P or PG movies for children. Twilight pricing will be offered, as well as all-day discounts on Tuesdays.
The FEATURES gastro pub and bar will serve freshly prepared, high-end bar foods, including gourmet burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads, salads and more. Developed by celebrity chef Brian Duffy, the menu will be served for lunch, dinner and late-night dining seven days a week.
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During the first month after it opens, the Riverview 14 GDX will exchange a free popcorn tub for any used ticket stub from another movie theater. And until it opens, area residents can sign up for a chance to win a year of free movie passes at www.goodrichqualitytheaters.com/fmg.
“We were so excited to win,” said Lacie Krantz, of Apollo Beach, a stay-at-home mom whose husband, Stephen, is a canine patrol deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. “We’ve been married for 17 years, and this will give us the chance to have a weekly date night away from the kids.”
The theater will also offer use of two party rooms for special occasions or small-group rentals. The manager can put together packages for such gatherings and an employee can be furnished for $40 to supervise and clean up. Patrons can bring their own food for the events or buy it on site.
Goodrich Quality Theaters Inc., a privately held company based in Grand Rapids, Mich., has been in business since 1930. It operates 30 family theaters in Michigan, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. The Riverview 14 GDX theater is the company’s first in Florida.
For more information, visit www.goodrichqualitytheaters.com.
Martin Betz, chief operating officer for Goodrich Quality Theaters, stands in the Riverview 14 GDX’s commercial kitchen, where high-end bar food will be prepared for the cinema’s FEATURES gastro pub and bar.
LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
The concession stand at the new Riverview 14 GDX will feature Pepsi products and free, self-serve refills on any size cup. In addition to an assortment of candy, pizza, nachos, hot dogs, frozen carbonated beverages and more, it will offer 50-cent refills on all popcorn sales. Beer and wine will also be available.
LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
Workers are busy finishing construction of the $20-million Riverview 14 GDX multiplex at 10550 East Bay Road, Gibsonton.
LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
