Booze at the movies?

• Proposal was pushed by Westown theater in Middletown
• Bill limits license to theaters with at least 500 seats%2C open five days a week and show 250 movies a year.
• Proposed movie theater liquor license would cost %241%2C500 every two years

Moviegoers across the state could soon watch a blockbuster with a brew in hand, if a bill gains approval.

The legislation, introduced earlier this month, would allow for the sale and consumption of beer, wine and liquor in theaters with 500 or more seats, open at least five days a week and that show 250 movies a year.

Additionally the bill would create a new movie theater liquor license that would cost $1,500 biennially, the same price as the concert hall category of license created in 2012 which allowed The Queen in Wilmington to serve alcohol.

Rick Roman, manager of Westown Movies in Middletown, which pushed for the bill, said the theater started looking into the potential of selling alcohol on-site shortly after opening its doors last year.

"We saw how other theater companies in the country were doing this, and we wanted to bring the experience to people in Middletown," he said.

Westown would likely impose a two-drink limit, Roman said.

Drinks would be sold away from the general concession stand and anyone buying alcohol would receive a wristband after having their age verified, Roman said.

"That all being said, it would be up to the [alcohol board] commissioner to establish the regulations," Roman said.

Like any other venue that serves drinks, including a bowling alley near the theater, the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement would enforce the law at the site.

"We are still reviewing it [the legislation] to fully understand the specifics and any potential impacts on our enforcement efforts, as well as public safety and youth access," said Kimberly Chandler, a spokeswoman for the agency, in an email.

Should the legislation pass, Delaware would join at least 30 other states, including Maryland and New Jersey, who allow the sale of alcohol in theaters.

Roman said the independent Westown Movies would abide by whatever regulations were put in place by the state.

Though movie theaters are typically thought of as good places to start a working career, Roman said any employee under the age of 21 would not be allowed to work in the separate bar concession area, and could not handle alcohol.

Creating a separate concession area would ensure the right people qualified to serve the alcohol are indeed serving drinks, he said.

Parents should not be concerned about letting their children go to a theater where alcohol would be served, he said.

"The regulations we would have would far exceed a bowling center," Roman said. "If they feel safe dropping their kids off at the bowling center, they should feel even safer dropping them off at the theater."

Moviegoers Friday afternoon had a mixed reaction about the proposal.

Peter LeFebvre, of Middletown, said he thought there was no need to have alcohol in a place where kids were around. It would be fine if it were a theater strictly geared to adults, he added.

"This is a place for families," he said. "It's not a place for a social hour."

Cindy McKenna, of Centreville, Md., disagreed.

"If I wasn't going to a kid's movie right now, sure," she said as she and her three grandchildren walked into the theater Friday afternoon to see Disney's "Bears."

Being able to have a glass of wine while watching a movie would be great for a girl's night out, or a good way to get her other half out to see a movie as well, she said.

"I'm only for the good points of this idea, like girlfriends and wine," she said. "I'm not for the bad points, like drinking and driving."

The bill, assigned to the House Economic Development Committee, has bipartisan support and is sponsored by Rep. Quinn Johnson, D-Middletown.

"Whenever there is change, people get concerned. I too had the same concerns and questions," Johnson said in an emailed repsonse. "Once I learned the facts and learned how it will be monitored and regulated, that this is not the first family-oriented venue to serve alcohol, and that all the other venues that the law currently allow have been doing so successfully, my concerns were addressed."

The legislation, if passed, would provide the option for other movie theaters and potentially create jobs, he said.

"In this economy, every newly created job and every maintained job is precious. Staff that are trained and of age to serve alcohol will need to be hired," he said.

Contact Jon Offredo at (302) 678-4271 or at joffredo@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @jonoffredo.