Coolidge Corner Theatre adding beer and wine to the menu

By Brock Parker, Globe Correspondent

Beer and wine are the next coming attraction to the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Following in the footsteps of its closest competitors at the Somerville Theatre and the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, the Coolidge Corner Theatre is hoping to begin selling beer and wine to movie-goers this summer.

Denise Kasell, executive director of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, said adding beer and wine to the menu is one of the ways the theater is attempting to improve the experience for movie buffs.

“That has become very competitive in the entertainment industry,” Kasell said.

Brookline’s Board of Selectmen approved the beer and wine license for the theater Tuesday, but Andrew Thompson, the manager at the independent film venue, said the first suds likely won’t be served up until this summer.

When the alcohol does go on sale, the theater plans to place some strict limits on customers.

No beer or wine will be sold to anyone attending a G-rated movie or a midnight show, and no one will be able to buy more than two beers during any flick.

Thompson said the theatre also won’t serve any alcohol before the first show time, which is usually around 4 p.m., and sales will be cut off about 20 minutes after shows that start at 10 p.m.

Selectman Betsy DeWitt voiced some concerns about giving the theater a license to sell alcohol when the venue does not serve meals.

“Popcorn does not count in my opinion,” she said.

But while DeWitt warned the theater it will need to be extra vigilant about to whom it serves alcohol, she voted in favor of awarding the beer and wine license.

The Somerville and Brattle theaters, which also cater to independent film enthusiasts, began serving beer and wine during the last three years with Somerville serving suds since 2007 and the Brattle joining in the alcohol sales last October.

Thompson said he doesn’t think the Coolidge Corner Theatre has been hurt by the alcohol sales at the competing theaters because of the distance between the venues.

But in its application for a beer and wine license, the Coolidge Corner Theater said concessions typically account for 25 percent of a movie houses’ revenue, and the margin of food and beverage sales is considerably higher than ticket sales.

A separate booth will be set up in the lobby of the theater with the wine and a kegerator for cold beer. Thompson said he’s hoping to serve beer from a local brewer, such as Harpoon.