Look inside state’s first Movie Tavern by Marcus
Wisconsin’s first Movie Tavern by Marcus theater is ready for its close-up.
The new 40,000-square-foot theater, which is one of two anchors in a rebuilt south wing of Brookfield Square mall, is set to open for business Friday. The other anchor is a 45,000-squarefoot WhirlyBall and bowling entertainment center, which is holding a grand opening Saturday.
On Wednesday, as work crews put the finishing touches on the exterior of the building, executives of Milwaukeebased Marcus Corp. gave the news media a look at what visitors will find:
Eight screens, all of them equipped with food trays attached to reclining seats to accommodate the theater’s expanded dining menu, and seven of them featuring USB ports for charging mobile phones. The one theater without phone chargers has state-of-the-art SuperScreen DLX technology, Dolby Atmos sound and seats that can be heated if the viewer feels chilly. In all, there are 860 seats among the eight auditoriums.
The tavern, which features a large island bar where moviegoers and nonmoviegoers alike can drink, eat, play table games like giant Scrabble, tic tac toe and peg solitaire or watch a game on the bar’s 16-by-9-foot television screen.
Outdoor seating with heaters just outside the tavern.
A new menu featuring dishes such as Asian beef rice bowl, roasted salmon super salad, teriyaki steak and shrimp, along with fare like Zaffiro’s pizza, grilled cheese, nachos grande and, of course, popcorn.
Delivery service in which patrons can place an order at the concession stand, via in-house kiosk or app and have it delivered — at the time they want it — to their theater seat by food runners.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this particular brand finally being brought to Milwaukee,” said Rolando Rodriguez, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Marcus Theatres.
Last February, Marcus Corp. purchased New Orleans-based Movie Tavern from VSS-Southern Theatres LLC, a $139 million deal that gave Marcus theaters in nine new states.
“Eight months later here we are bringing that brand into our hometown,” Rodriguez said. “It was very important to bring this brand to this hometown and part of this great mall CBL (Properties) project that is taking place, that in my mind, will be a great entertainment hub for the entire city.”
The Marcus theater and WhirlyBall wing is built where a Sears store stood until it was closed in March 2018 and razed.
In part, the Movie Tavern concept differs from the in-theater dining feature of the Marcus BistroPlex concept in that food orders aren’t taken from moviegoers at their seats, as they are at the BistroPlex.
The auditoriums also are available for private group meetings that can use the screens for their business or celebratory events — or even rent them to watch football games.