When Alamo Drafthouse Cinema abruptly announced on a random Friday night that both El Paso locations were shutting down, it honestly felt like we got dumped out of nowhere. One minute we were planning our weekend showtimes, the next minute tickets were getting refunded. Season Pass holders, myself included, got that dreaded prorated refund email. And just like that, a huge part of El Paso movie culture felt like it vanished overnight.<\/p>\n
Social media turned into a digital candlelight vigil. Then we found out Flix Brewhouse was stepping in, and some people lost their minds.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019ll be honest, some of us were so skeptical and heartbroken we couldn’t imagine another theater taking its place.<\/p>\n
But after talking with Flix Brewhouse’s Vice President of Store Operations, David Meillier, and actually sitting down for a preview experience, I walked away feeling\u2026 hopeful. Let\u2019s talk through the big worries people have had.<\/p>\n
Do They Still Do Classic Movies and Big Themed Events?<\/p>\n
Yes. And not in a half-hearted way.<\/p>\n
Flix genuinely loves movie culture. They lean into cult classics, anniversary screenings, and full-blown movie parties where you\u2019re encouraged to dress up and go all in. There\u2019s even a Big Lebowski event coming up, which feels very on brand for El Paso\u2019s fellow Dudes. If you loved those communal, nerd-out moments at Alamo, that energy is still alive.<\/p>\n
What About a Season Pass?<\/p>\n
Okay, this is where it\u2019s a little different.<\/p>\n
Flix doesn\u2019t have the same unlimited-style pass. Instead, they run a rewards system. You buy five movies, you get one free. There are food perks and discounts built in too.<\/p>\n
For former Alamo Season Pass holders, they\u2019re offering Gold-level benefits through 2026 through their Circle Rewards Program. It\u2019s not identical, but they\u2019re clearly trying to meet us halfway and soften the landing.<\/p>\n
Are They Serious About No Talking and No Phones?<\/p>\n
Yes. Very serious.<\/p>\n
Disruptive guests can be removed without a refund. You can\u2019t show up late once the movie has started. They encourage everyone to arrive about 30 minutes early so you can settle in and order food without chaos.<\/p>\n
Phones are technically allowed for mobile ordering, but they ask you to use dark mode and absolutely no flashlights. And honestly, Alamo had already started rolling out mobile ordering too, so you would have had to deal with a phone or two during the movie regardless.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s Talk About the Food<\/p>\n
This one surprised me in the best way.<\/p>\n
Flix brews their own beer. Some of it has literally won awards. They\u2019ve even got creative cocktails for people who aren\u2019t beer fans. And the food? It\u2019s made fresh in house and it tastes like someone actually cared while making it.<\/p>\n
I can name maybe one or two Alamo items I was loyal to. After a five-course media tasting at Flix, I already have multiple go-to picks. And yes, the churro doughnut holes are dangerous. Keep reading to see a full gallery of some delicious movie food straight from Flix themselves.<\/p>\n
Bottomless Popcorn?<\/p>\n
Yes. The classic popcorn is bottomless.<\/p>\n
The specialty flavors aren\u2019t unlimited, but here\u2019s the cool part: once you finish your fancy flavor, you can switch to unlimited classic popcorn at no extra charge. That feels like a win.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the Deal With the Automatic 18 Percent Gratuity?<\/p>\n
Flix automatically adds 18 percent, and it\u2019s distributed among the service team. If you feel the service didn\u2019t meet expectations, you can request an adjustment.<\/p>\n
Personally, I tend to tip high anyway, so it doesn\u2019t bother me. I get why some people prefer to decide for themselves. At least there\u2019s flexibility if you truly feel it wasn\u2019t earned.<\/p>\n
One of the most important things David made sure to emphasize to me was this: the former Alamo staff were hired back. The people who created that vibe? They\u2019re still here. Your favorite bartenders. Your go-to servers. The energy didn\u2019t disappear.<\/p>\n
I got to experience this preview lunch with my good friend and fellow film nerd Christian Churches, and even as someone who loved Alamo deeply, he walked away feeling excited and even hopeful that Flix may actually be a great replacement to Alamo. They even have those awesome custom curated pre-show experiences instead of gross commercials like those other theaters!<\/p>\n
Change is hard, especially when it messes with something we loved. But after seeing what Flix is bringing to the table, I\u2019m genuinely optimistic. It still feels like a place that respects movies and the people who love them.<\/p>\n
And that matters.<\/p>\n
Flix Brewhouse Pints & Bites Food Menu<\/p>\n
Media outlets were invited to a special 5-Course Meal tasting of all the delicious food theyre bringing to the table. Including things no one is doing in theaters, like Beef Bulgogi or Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese!!<\/p>\n
Gallery Credit: Grizz<\/p>\n
PHOTOS: A Look Inside The Pizza Joints New East El Paso Location<\/p>\n
Pizza Joint opened their doors to their 4th El Paso location located in Horizon and the new spot is not like the other locations! <\/p>\n
Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Iris Lopez<\/p>\n
Remembering The Alamo Movie Theaters In El Paso<\/p>\n
Both Alamo Movie theaters in El Paso closed abruptly but they were gems for the movie loving community here in the city. We honor them with photos from Christian Churches Photography. <\/p>\n
Gallery Credit: Grizz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Alamo Drafthouse Cinema abruptly announced on a random Friday night that both El Paso locations were shutting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183240,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139,141,142,143],"class_list":["post-183239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-featured-carousel","tag-include-in-newsletter","tag-local-el-paso"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}