40°42′58″N73°57′45″W / 40.715981°N 73.962563°W /40.715981; -73.962563
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| Industry | Entertainment (movie theater) |
|---|---|
| Founded | June 24, 2011 (14 years ago) (2011-06-24) |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn,New York City,New York, U.S. |
Number of locations | 2 |
Key people | Matthew Viragh(Founder) |
| Website | nitehawkcinema |
Nitehawk Cinema is a dine-inindependent movie theater inBrooklyn,New York City. It operates two locations, in the neighborhoods ofWilliamsburg andPark Slope. The theater, which offers a menu of food and drinks that can be ordered and consumed while patrons view films, was the firstliquor licensed movie theater in the state ofNew York, and the first movie theater in New York City to offertable service.[1][2]
Nitehawk was founded by Matthew Viragh. Viragh sought to establish a dine-in movie theater in New York City in 2008, after being a regular attendee at theAlamo Drafthouse Cinema while living inAustin, Texas,[3] and later working at theCommodore Theatre inPortsmouth, Virginia, the firstfirst-run movie theater in the United States to serve alcohol.[1] At the time, New York state had aProhibition-era law barring movie theaters from serving alcohol, prompting Viragh to hire a lawyer and a lobbyist to seek the law's repeal.[1] Senate Bill S4772, which authorizes movie theaters in New York state to serve alcoholic beverages, passed theNew York State Legislature by broad margins and was signed by GovernorAndrew Cuomo on August 17, 2011.[4]
Nitehawk opened its first location, a three-screen theater inWilliamsburg, Brooklyn, on June 24, 2011.[5] The theater was the first multi-screen theater inNorthern Brooklyn following the closure of the Commodore Cinemas in Williamsburg in 2002.[6] As its opening preceded the passage of Senate Bill S4772 and the modification of the theater's liquor license by several months, alcoholic beverages were initially only served in the front-of-house cafe and not during screenings.[2][7] Nitehawk Williamsburg is housed in a former industrial building renovated by Caliper Architecture, and was retrofitted to also include a nine-unit apartment building and a custom façade made fromLED lights, zinc, and glass.[8][9] The theater's menu was developed byMichelin-starred chefSaul Bolton.[1][2]
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In September 2016, Nitehawk announced plans to open a second location, Nitehawk Prospect Park, inPark Slope.[10] It is located in an historicArt Deco movie theater adjacent toProspect Park that operated as the Sanders Theater from 1928 to 1978,[10][11][12] and as the Pavilion Theater from 1996 to 2016.[10][13] Viragh and the building's owner had discussed converting the theater into a Nitehawk in 2011, but discussions fell through following the opening of Nitehawk Williamsburg.[14] In 2015, theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved a plan that would have partially converted the building intocondominiums and shrunk the floor area of the theater.[11][15] However, an investment firm ultimately purchased the building for $28 million[15] and granted a long-term lease to Nitehawk.[10]
Nitehawk Prospect Park underwent renovations through 2016 and 2017,[14] at a cost of "less than $10 million".[10] Originally slated to open in fall 2017,[16] renovation delays and the discovery of historic elements from the Sanders theater amid demolition led the opening to be postponed,[17] and it ultimately reopened on December 19, 2018.[18] The theater, which includes seven screens, 650 seats, two kitchens, and two bars,[10] was designed by Think! Architecture and Design.[14] The exterior of the building remained largely unchanged, except for the addition of a newmarquee and an enlargement of its windows.[19] In contrast to Nitehawk Williamsburg, Nitehawk Prospect Park screens a greater proportion offamily andblockbuster films.[20]
Initially focused on screeningfirst-run films,[21] Nitehawk shifted focus to incorporate a range of first-run,classic,[21]art house,[20] andcult films.[22] Nitehawk holds several regular series of special screenings andmidnight movies, including "The Deuce" (exploitation films),[23][24] "Film Feasts" (multi-course meals based on the film being screened),[23] "Nitehawk Naughties" (erotic films),[25] "Anime After Dark" (anime films screened in partnership withAnime NYC),[26][27] and "A Nite To Dismember" (an all-nightmovie marathon held annually onHalloween).[28] Since 2013, Nitehawk has held the Nitehawk Shorts Festival, an annualfilm festival focused onshort films.[29]
Nitehawk does not screen advertisements during its preshow, instead showing a montage ofclips that are customized for each film;[25] for instance, the preshow for Nitehawk's screenings ofThe Favourite included clips fromOlivia Colman's comedic work andYorgos Lanthimos' short films.[30] In addition to its standard menu, Nitehawk offers a special menu forbrunch screenings,[31] and limited-time menu items inspired by the current slate of films it is screening.[7]
Nitehawk has been cited as anindependent movie theater that has achieved financial success despite the industry's decline in ticket sales, which prompted several independent theaters to close down.[25] The passing of Senate Bill S4772 is noted as having led a proliferation of liquor-licensed dine-in theaters in New York City, including Syndicated inBushwick, theMetrograph on theLower East Side, and anAlamo Drafthouse Cinema inDowntown Brooklyn, withThe New York Times calling Nitehawk "the granddaddy of swizzle-stick cinema in the city".[31]
