FEBRUARY 11, 2010 ISSUE
The ReelHouse Cinema & Draft To Open Soon in Boone
New Owners, New Additions, New Plan Characterize Former Dragonfly Theater
After almost two months of renovations, managing partners Casey Pond (left) and Megan Carmody will unveil The ReelHouse Cinema & Draft in the coming weeks. The business occupies the former home of Dragonfly Theater & Pub on Boone Heights Drive in Boone. Photo by Sam Calhoun 
Customers will discover seating for 112 in The ReelHouse Cinema & Draft, and a new bar and door with curtains was recently installed in the movie theater’s back corner so that waiters/waitresses can better assist customers. The partners also added a new wall, formulated a new menu, installed a hood for the kitchen, arranged a new seating layout, purchased new cooking equipment, developed a new approach to live entertainment, outlined a new schedule of movie times and expanded the business’s food and drink menus. Photo by Sam Calhoun Since January 1, the sounds of hammers, saws and workers have been more prevalent at the former location of Dragonfly Theater & Pub than the expected sounds of movies, live music and customers—but that will all change later this month. After almost two months of renovations, managing partners Casey Pond and Megan Carmody will unveil The ReelHouse Cinema & Draft—Boone’s updated, improved, revamped and expanded “brew and view”—in the coming weeks.
“The ReelHouse is a restaurant with a theater and a live music component,” explained Pond, who took over the bankrupt Dragonfly Theater & Pub on January 1 with Carmody and three silent partners.
Carmody and Pond wasted no time developing a new plan for the space. The partners added a new wall, built a new bar, formulated a new menu, installed a hood for the kitchen, arranged a new seating layout, purchased new cooking equipment, developed a new approach to live entertainment, outlined a new schedule of movie times and expanded the business’s food and drink menus—a new cornerstone of the operation.
New Food and Drink
“Our first priority is food—we’re treating the space like a dining room,” said Pond.
Carmody, who is also the owner of Black Cat Burrito in Boone, and Pond, who is co-owner of Sunrise Grill in Boone and co-owner of High Country Green Boxes LLC, place great importance on the food and food service of The ReelHouse.
Instead of waiting in line to place an order like at Dragonfly Theater & Pub, ReelHouse customers will sit down first and then use a pencil to fill out a menu that is already on the table. Once customers mark their order, a ReelHouse employee will collect the menu, start cooking and then deliver the order once ready.
“It kind of works like a sushi menu,” explained Carmody.
“At ReelHouse, you order after you’re seated, which eliminates congestion,” she added.
The ReelHouse will serve a full menu from 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. seven days a week; a limited menu will be served from 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. until close every day.
The new menu features pizza by the slice, burgers, salads, sandwiches, hand-cut French fries and a hefty helping of appetizer choices. “It’s going to be great food,” added Carmody.
Beer and wine will be available when the business opens, with 10 to 12 beers on tap, a large bottled beer selection and at least 10 wines by the glass, which will be selected from the menu’s expanded wine list. On April 1, The ReelHouse will begin serving liquor-by-the-drink.
All customers will receive free popcorn—all they have to do is ask.
Customers will discover seating for 112 in the dining room/movie theater, and a new bar and door with curtains was recently installed in the movie theater’s back corner so that waiters/waitresses can better assist customers—“so the main door to the movie theater doesn’t get opened a lot,” explained Carmody.
“We’re doing the best with the layout we have,” said Pond.
Day-to-Day Operations
In short, The ReelHouse will provide quality food, a variety of eclectic entertainment options and will continue to run as a movie theater, with consistent movie times and schedules.
“Its identity is it’s an ‘anything’ room,” explained Pond. “I think that Boone really does need a venue like this—both for the independent theater aspect but also for the space and the room. If you’ve been around here long enough, you know of the limitations of other spaces in town. This will give Boone what it’s needed for a longtime.”
“I grew up with draft-cinema houses,” said Carmody. “It was a nice place to go, something to do, and I really thought it was a cool concept; I think Boone needs something like this.”
The ReelHouse will show at least three movies, including a matinee, every day, primarily in the same genres that were shown at Dragonfly Theater & Pub. Customers can expect to find independent, art-house, second-run, horror and off-the-break films in regular rotation on the ReelHouse screen, as opposed to first-run films.
A large focus of The ReelHouse will be its lunch offerings. Every day, the kitchen will open at 11:30 a.m. and begin taking orders for lunch. By noon, a free lunch show will start on the movie screen.
“It will be different things—television shows, sports, re-runs, but not a movie,” explained Pond.
“From sports to Lost,” added Carmody.
“At 1:30 p.m. every day, we’ll transition into offering a paid matinee feature film—we’ll then work like a normal theater. By that time, lunch patrons will have left or if they want to stay then they can buy a ticket,” explained Pond.
In between the matinee and movies, which will start later in the day, random entertainment will be displayed on the screen, such as television shows, sports and re-runs.
Pond and Carmody are also bringing consistent and quality live music and entertainment to the venue three to four nights every week. Ideas include dance nights, gaming tournaments, karaoke nights, action sports nights, Monday Night Football presentations, Pay-Per-View events, comedy shows, mechanical bull events, community theater performances and live music shows featuring “performers you wouldn’t expect to see in Boone,” said Pond.
“As the entertainment calendar develops, we’ll also do theme days,” said Carmody.
Pond and Carmody also hope to offer the space for rental through an hourly rate for private events, from business meetings to birthday parties.
The ReelHouse Cinema & Draft, which is located at 215 Boone Heights Drive in Boone, will be open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., extending to 2:00 a.m. on select evenings.
Within the month, Pond and Carmody will launch www.thereelhouseboone.com.
For more information, call the ReelHouse Movie Phone at 828-262-3222 or click to www.twitter.com/reelhouseboone.
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