On Feb. 7, there was an impromptu announcement that the El Paso Alamo Drafthouse locations in Montecillo and on the East side would be closed for renovation. The renovations of both locations were then announced to be a rebrand into Flix Brewhouses, adding two new locations with the original Flix Brewhouse at West Towne Marketplace.  

Although the announcement for the rebranding of the locations was short notice, it was a plan over a year in the making.  

At a press conference addressing changes in El Paso and other Texas cities, including Houston and Lubbock, Kristelle Siarza Moon, CEO of Siarza, a media relations company representing Flix, said planning for the rebranding Began well before the public announcement. 

“It feels like it’s overnight, but it certainly hasn’t been. We’ve been working on this for over a year,” Moon said. “There was a lot to navigate with the franchise or relationship and making sure that the timing was right.”  

Employees of the Alamo Drafthouse locations were notified shortly before the announcement. They were offered the opportunity to continue working at the locations as Flix Brewhouse employees, offering them immediate training if they chose to stay.  

A current employee, who requested to stay anonymous due to privacy concerns, said some staff members were aware of internal discussions before the public announcement, but confirmation came only days before operations ended under the Alamo name.  

“For some of the employees, they had information, but it wasn’t made public until four or five days before our final days. There had always been rumors but never anything we could all confirm,” they said.  

The employee described the training experience with Flix Brewhouse as positive and hoped the community would response well to the change.  

“I really feel as though we’ll be taken care of by Flix,” they said. “I hope with the closing of the Alamo and the opening of Flix, the community of El Paso reacts positively and shows up.” 

There have been mixed reactions with the closing and rebranding of the Alamo locations, with people feeling upset, positive and even indifferent about the locations upcoming changes.  

Esteban Fuentes, a junior at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), said he felt saddened by the closure.  

“Honestly, I kind of find it really sad just because it’s been my go-to place for such a long time,” Fuentes said. “It’s just really sad to see.  Every time I went in there it felt very nostalgic from when I remember going to see a movie for the first time and just experiencing that over and over again.  It feels like saying goodbye to somebody without even getting a chance to properly do it.” 

Fuentes was subscribed to the Alamo’s subscription service, which was canceled and refunded. 

“They did give me a full refund for the whole membership since they didn’t renew before they closed down,” Fuentes said. “I did have a lot of points wrapped up, so it just kind of sucks that I wasn’t able to take advantage of it, especially since they closed down.”  

UTEP senior, Ramsey Perez, said he was indifferent towards the rebranding, noting he prefers going to other theatres. 

“It’s a pretty abrupt change. I was not expecting it changing into Flix. I thought Alamo was going to be here more permanently than Flix was,” Perez said. “I don’t really see the difference because I only went to Flix once and it was a positive experience.  But, I’m a person who goes to Premiere [Cinemas] typically most of the time than any other theater. I’m indifferent to the change. It’s not that big of a change for me, but I could see how it is for other people.” 

The new Flix Brewhouse locations were scheduled to open on Feb. 21. Tickets were priced at $5.55 through Feb. 26 to mark the transition.  

Aziel Ramos is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]