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Hello, La Mesa!
Last week we got sad news – Reading Cinemas closed. Although its cheap prices will never be back, we will at least get to watch movies at Grossmont Center again.
AMC announced Tuesday that it would take over the 10-screen theater inside the mall and renovate it. It’s a relief to hear that the space won’t just sit empty as some sort of harbinger of the end of malls in America.
The theater will be closed until sometime early next year. They need time to modernize things and install those fancy recliners. And those recliners are what AMC thinks give them an edge over other cinemas.
Last night I went to test them out for myself at AMC’s UTC La Jolla location. Finding the optimal footrest placement to watch the movie was fun to play with but the real kicker was the seat warmers. I watched “Scream 6” with toasty buns and the ultimate neck craning comfort.
The movie itself was skippable but being in a group of 30 people roasting and laughing at the movie was not. There were so many of us a home watch party would not do.
As movie theaters try to bring people back amid a turn to streaming, maybe that should be their pitch. Home theaters are great by yourself and with a small group, but if you really want to enjoy a movie with a large group of friends, a traditional theater is the only option.
Maybe next year I’ll get to invite them to La Mesa AMC instead of trekking to La Jolla AMC.
There’s more on the mall renovations in the story below 👷
Drew Sitton
La Mesa Courier newsletter host
La Mesa story spotlight
AMC to replace Reading Cinemas at Grossmont Center
By Drew Sitton • Times of San Diego
AMC announced that it had acquired the Grossmont Center theater through a deal with Federal Realty and would be fully renovating it.
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