Between film screenings, acting classes and live events, nearly 20,000 people flocked to St. Petersburg’s Green Light Cinema last year.

Theater owner Mike Hazlett wants to feed them more than just popcorn and soda.

Hazlett and his wife, Sue, are opening Green Light Lounge + Kitchen this month at 225 Second Ave. N., right next to Green Light Cinema.

“People want an experience, right? They want to watch a movie, and they want to get a drink before, or a bite to eat, you know, or to go somewhere after to talk about the film,” Hazlett said. “And I was just watching people walk out the door and be like, ‘Where do we go?’”

After getting final approval from the city, the lounge will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. It features an “elevated bar menu” to feed hungry movie buffs and a small stage for live events like comedy and cabaret.

Since debuting in early 2020, the 80-seat art house movie theater has attracted a steady audience with indie movies, foreign pictures, documentaries and monthly live performances of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” from the group Hell on Heels.

“If we can get half of those folks to come over here, we’re in pretty good shape,” Hazlett said. “We have a built-in audience, and this is a bigger canvas for us.”

The new space was formerly home to Hops 2.0, a beer bar and cafe. Hazlett painted the ceiling and brightened up the previously black walls with subway tile and movie posters. Natural light pours through the glass windows on the garage doors. Hanging plants and cozy mid-century modern furniture add to the lounge vibe.

“One of my pet peeves is when you go to restaurants and you have really uncomfortable chairs,” Hazlett said, sinking into one of the new green leather seats. “These are really comfortable because you want people to stay, you know. And the vibe here is to hang out.”

Hazlett dreams of improv nights and jazz performances. This year, Green Light has worked with about 500 students. The bigger space will allow expanded programming in 2026.

Green Light Lounge + Kitchen will offer Kahwa coffee, house wines, sangria, Mother Kombucha and about 16 beers on tap from places like 3 Daughters and Green Bench Brewing Co., which collaborates with Green Light Cinema monthly to host film screenings.

“Movies are a struggle. The movie theater business has not recovered from COVID, period, full stop. And 30% of the audience is never coming back,” Hazlett said. “All I can do is swim in the ocean and do the best I can with programming. … We do well, but it’s still within the context of an industry that has not.”

Green Light Cinema has succeeded by leaning into the community, said Hungry Bull Productions founder Joe Restaino, who produced the 2021 film “Pig” and has partnered with the Hazletts on the lounge.

“I think it’s a place for all the filmmakers, all the artists,” he said, noting that the lounge will be near not just Green Light Cinema, but American Stage Theatre Co. and the Palladium.

“When we first opened, we were in the middle of COVID, and the phrase at the time was ‘One customer at a time,’” he said. “If you walk through that door, we’re gonna chat you up and learn your name. And you’re going to remember us.”