Icon Cinema and restaurant Dion’s are breathing life into the long-vacant retail center off of San Mateo Boulevard, north of Montgomery.
Since the Movies 8 dollar theater closed last year, the commercial building has remained empty. Now, Icon Cinema plans to open a second location in the space, while Dion’s is set to move its commissary into the adjacent lots, too, according to KRQE.
“It was a perfect fit for them because in their perspective when you’re looking at expanding, how many vacant movie theaters are available in the city?” said Scott Goodman, vice president of Goodman Realty Group. “This was an amazing opportunity for them and an amazing opportunity for us because it allows a lot of what this theater was to be reused.”
The location needed more than a fresh coat of paint, KRQE reported.
The slanted walls and load bearing walls have scared off some occupants, but Icon Cinema plants on substantial renovations. Dion's, meanwhile, bought the lots east and west of the building, which are intended for an administrative and maintenance location as well as a restaurant.
Goodman Realty Group also plans on transforming the former buffet behind Hooters into a ”ghost kitchen” which would create multiple small kitchens for online delivery businesses.
Before Movies 8, the commercial building was the home of iT'Z Family Food and Fun, which closed in 2016.