SAN ANTONIO — City Base Entertainment opened back up to the public on Friday, becoming the latest San Antonio-area theater to welcome back moviegoers with new safety measures in place to minimize the risk of infecting customers and staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The movies has always been an outlet,” said City Base Entertainment Managing Director Brad Smith. “Even when the world was normal, you would go to watch movies to escape reality.”
A trip to the movies can feel like a window into a different time, but since theaters started opening again, the view is a bit different. There are no boxes of candy to grab outside the concession stands, the arcades have been barred up and rows of seats in the auditorium are blocked off with caution tape.
“Every other row is blocked off to make sure we maintain that six-foot distance,” Smith said.
As City Base Entertainment opens its doors to the public again, cashiers greet customers from behind a mask and a sheet of plexiglass serves as a reminder that "normal" is going to look different for a while.
Santikos, which opened back on May 2nd, has a similar look.
“As soon as they enter the doors, they’re going to see markers that say "Be smart, stay six feet apart,'" said Andrew Brooks, Santikos Entertainment's executive director of marketing and sales. “That’s to encourage that social distancing and be a friendly reminder.”
Both chains are limiting face-to-face interactions between employees and moviegoers, and minimizing what guests have to touch. They are also doing informal screenings at the entrance for coronavirus symptoms.
“If the answer is 'Yes,' we’re going to politely refund your money. If the answer is no, then we’re going to ask you to proceed and go enjoy the show.”
The procedures haven’t changed the same way across the board. Santikos would ordinarily have self-serve drink fountains, but now a staff member waits to fill drinks for guests to keep people from bunching up in that area. City-Base does refills at the concession counter. A customer would show the cashier their cup, then throw it a way and be given a new one. Nothing that crosses the counter goes back the other way.
Smith says that, for him and other theater operators like him, it’s about more than just putting on a show.
“We’re showing the world that we can actually maintain the ability during the crisis to be able to keep the theaters open and keep them safe," he said.
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