Anyone who has visited Austin and has had the good fortune to experience the Alamo Drafthouse has been known to pine for such a great cinema experience. While There's nothing like the real thing, now called the Alamo Ritz, the fun and food of a theatre pub is coming to a place near you... if you're lucky. 

And by pub, I mean that literally. You can get beer, if you want it. And the Alamo Ritz now has a liquor license, so if I decide to check out Sex and the City, I could have a cosmopolitan with my meal.  Although I'm more likely to try to $5 shakes, which are worth $5.  Or the italian sodas.  Let's just say popcorn and a national brand soda are not your only options.  (Although I must say, I really, really wish they still had the roasted vegetable raviolis still on the menu. That was really, really good).

 The original location and two other Austin area locations are still owned by Tim and Karrie League. But there have been some franchise locations in other Texas cities (7 total).  It's a popular venue for SXSW film, and the location for the newer Fantastic Fest.  Some of us who attend the SXSW film festival and conference plan movies by which meals we want to eat at the Alamo.

But now, a franchise is opening in Winchester, VA, and hopes to open 30 more locations by the end of 2010, according to a Austin Business Journal article stating that Alamo Drafthouse heads to East Coast during national expansion.  In the next year or so, there will be a new Alamo in San Antonio, and one in McAllen.

While the franchise locations don't seem to have the fun stuff as the "original" Alamo does, such as Weird Wednesdays, singalongs, and Rolling Roadshow special events, you can still get real food served to you at your seat. And beer. And who knows, maybe some of the franchise locations will also have liquor licenses, like the Alamo Ritz.  More than one set of parents I know love the fact that they can do dinner and a movie in one location. It's also regularly an Austin Chronicle "Best of" for cheap dates. 

So those of you pining for the Alamo experience, watch this space.