Moviegoers of age will soon be able to buy beer and wine at the concession stands at the Carmike theatre in Auburn, and they will be able to take those beverages into the auditoriums to watch their movies.
The Auburn City Council approved beer and retail table wine alcohol licenses for the Carmike Wynnsong 14 Big D movie theatre at the council's meeting Tuesday, Oct. 4.
The beer and wine service will be an added amenity, not an effort to become a bar or pub alternative, said Wanda Single, Carmike Wynnsong's beverage control manager.
The theatre's managers oversee training for responsible sale and compliance with Alabama Beverage Control rules and regulations.
"We have someone 21 or older that ID's everyone," Single said. "We pour it into a ... clear cup just for beer and wine. And then we allow it into the auditoriums, and we monitor the auditoriums more closely."
One or two concession terminals would be devoted to serving alcoholic beverages, and each costumer can only purchase one drink, per ID, per trip to the concession stand, Single said.
Drinkers can't take their beverages out the door of the theatre.
Carmike serves beer and wine at about 65 other locations across the country, Single said. One other Alabama Carmike theatre serves beer and wine in Montgomery, and it has been for two years, said John Archer, a representative of Wynnsong.
Archer said the company has a strict alcohol control plan, and the Montgomery location has sold alcohol for two years with no incident. Other Carmike Wynnsong theatres have been selling alcohol for nearly 20 years.
Domestic beers will range in price from $4.50–5 and wines will range from $6–8, Single said.
The permit passed the Council unanimously, but with one abstention: former Auburn Police Chief and Ward 8 City Councilman Tommy Dawson.
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