You know by now that the Studio Movie Grill in Plano underwent a multi-million dollar revamp and is back open for business. You know that they’re screening Star Wars this weekend. But most of you seem pre-occupied with the same few things: Are the bathrooms updated? Is the food better? Are those mysterious odors gone? Yes, yes and yes. We got to preview their new digs last night, and here’s what we found out.
Pretty much the entire place was gutted. You’ll recognize the two ramps that lead to the movie screens. The long corridor is in pretty much the same spot. But that’s about all that’s left of the previous space. The kitchen is brand new. The bathrooms are brand new (and smell very nice, by the way.)
The entry area has a spacious bar with tvs on every side, plenty of booths and a few tables. You can grab a few drinks or enjoy anything from the full menu before heading to the back to the screen. SMG’s Director of Marketing, Gary Frank, says that the idea is to make the movie-going experience more social. “We like to say ‘come early or stay late’,” he says, that way you can hang out with friends or family, and not feel rushed to finish dinner elsewhere in order to get to your movie on time.
Speaking of being late to the movies, you know when you’re running late and the theater is almost full, so you’re forced to sit on the front row? Man, that sucks. But not at the Plano SMG. We’d seen the pics beforehand, we knew everyone in the theater gets their own leather recliner, but the first two rows of the theater have foot rests! Now those front two rows are the best spots in the house! You can lay back and enjoy your movie while the speedy new waitstaff fills you up with food and glorious booze. You can even take a nap if the movie is not so good. Studio Movie Grill recommends you get there about 25-30 minutes early if you want to get your meal before the show starts. We tasted several items from the updated menu and yes, the food is most definitely better.
The theater chain is big on giving back to the community. Coming in the new year, they’ve planned canned food drives, screenings for children with special needs, and fundraisers for community businesses like Children’s Medical Center and ArtCenter of Plano. So you can feel good about shelling out a few bucks at this theater.
Check out pics of the new place:
Studio Movie Grill Website > [codepeople-post-map]
