BETHESDA ROW CINEMA ADDING BEER, WINE AND LIQUOR TO MENU

ALCOHOL COULD

BE ON SALE

BEFORE HOLIDAYS

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema has applied for a Montgomery County license to sell beer, wine and spirits during its movies.  The movie theater's hearing is scheduled for November 15, at 9:30 AM.

Landmark's other Washington area theater, E Street Cinema, already offers alcohol at its concession stand.  Adding alcohol sales at Bethesda Row will almost certainly boost that theater's profits; as any restauranteur can tell you, most dining establishments take their biggest profits from liquor sales.

The move comes after a revamped concessions menu, including the delicious Phillips Crab Pretzel.  But the theater is referring to the new menu and adult beverage selections not as a "snack bar," but as the Bethesda Row Cafe.  Of course, regulars are already used to Landmark's more upscale concession and coffee offerings not usually found at the average cineplex.

What will be on the list?  Montgomery County's liquor regulations make it costlier and more challenging to put together beer and wine lists than in the District.  Having said that, there is little on E Street's list that I haven't already found in Bethesda.

As an example of what's coming to Bethesda Row, E Street is currently offering a "Scotchtober" tasting menu of scotches, bourbons and whiskeys.  They also have a Beer of the Month, which for October is Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale.  And DC Brau is on their beer list.  As an upscale touch, wines are available both by the glass and bottle.  Spirits range from Captain Morgan to fairly-affordable single malt scotches.

Fair warning:  prices will be higher here, due again to jurisdictional policies.

And Landmark will be checking your driver's license.

Is this a plus for you, or do you think alcohol will change the the currently staid atmosphere for the worse?  Leave your thoughts in a comment below.

Personally, I think the theatergoers at Bethesda Row Cinema tend to be mature - not so much in age, as more commonly, in behavior.  I can think of many times when intoxicated people have come from nearby establishments into the Regal Bethesda, so in-house Prohibition doesn't necessarily stop poor behavior.

But I'm definitely curious to hear people's reactions to serving alcohol at the theater.