$2.6 million ‘Movie Lounge’ project back on track

The Movie Lounge is back on, with Dwight Curry and Lynn Curry Weidman ready to move forward on a $2.6 million project that will create up to 60 jobs and promises to deliver a unique dining and entertainment venue to the region.

The Fort Smith Board of Directors on Tuesday (Jan. 4) approved a zoning change that will allow the former Circuit City store at 7601 Rogers Ave. to be renovated into what Weidman says will be “much more than just a movie theater.”

Curry told the board that project work will begin immediately. He expects to close on the property in a few weeks, and already has a contractor in place to gut the building. Reconstruction plans should be ready by mid-February, with construction estimated at about 8 months. Curry said he hopes “by the holiday season” of 2011 to be serving meals and showing movies.

Plans for the Movie Lounge include a 115-seat restaurant, a banquet facility that will seat up to 235 and three 40-60 person theaters. The theaters will include videoconferencing options. Curry and Weidman said the space will be flexible and they will market it for weddings, dinners, corporate meetings, company parties, receptions and other gatherings.

Also, Curry noted,The Movie Lounge facilities will be marketed to eight limited-service hotels that are nearby.

“They (hotels) won’t have the meeting space, and so our management company will work with them to provide that room and services for their guests,” Curry explained.

Curry’s company, Fort Smith-based Dwight Curry Hospitality Investments, will manage The Movie Lounge.

Weidman said they want The Movie Lounge to have a classic look, possibly reminding patrons of the early history of the big screen. They also plan to show independent and limited-run movies, something not available in the Fort Smith area.

The concept behind The Movie Lounge is successful in larger metro areas like Dallas-Fort Worth with “Movie Tavern” locations, and Atlanta, where AMC operates one of several “Fork & Screen” theater-restaurant venues.

Curry and Weidman are confident the concept will be profitable in the smaller Fort Smith  metro because it will be operated as more than just a restaurant and theater.

“The movie is the hook. It’s like having a band at a restaurant,” Curry explained. “And then we will have all the other options.”