The Metrograph Cinema (and Bookstore) on Ludlow Street Seeks Full Liquor License
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Across the street from the once mighty Loews Canal Theatre, the Metrograph cinema house hopes to inject the arts back into the neighborhood. Converting the old warehouse at 7-11 Ludlow Street is certainly an ambitious endeavor, born from the collective mind of tie peddler Alexander Olch, Lincoln Center programmer Jake Perlin, musician Joachim Kearns, and Ethan Oberman.
It’s chugging ahead full force. The project site is rife with activity on the regular with materials drops and interior construction. This week’s update is the establishment of a mezzanine level with iron pylons, visible from the sidewalk vantage point. As previously reported, the Metrograph theater will extend seven feet beyond its current vertical threshold. The $1.4 million job will increase the overall floor area to 8,853 square-feet.
Upon completion, the two-screen Metrograph theater will feature a mix of first-run independent and international movies, as well as repertory films. A bookstore is also part of the plan. And, of course, plenty of liquor.
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Paperwork submitted to Community Board 3 reveals more details about the method of operation on premise. There are two L-shaped bars planned for the Metrograph – upstairs (14 feet) and downstairs (12 feet) – with sixteen bar stools. Moreover, there will be seventeen tables split between both floors with a total of seventy-two seats. Hours of operation are 9am to 4am daily; the application notes that “late hours during the week [due to] movie openings and special events.”
No alcohol will be permitted in the theater, though. The kitchen, meanwhile, offers up a menu service for “Art Deco American cuisine,” and will remain open during all hours.
Opening is still expected in “early 2016.” The community can find out more about the Metrograph in the CB3 Arts subcommittee meeting next Wednesday.
While intentions of the project are definitely admirable, it’s difficult not to be somewhat skeptical about the nature of a 4am full liquor license in such a large space. The potential for club-like atmosphere is definitely a possibility.
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Rendering of the Metrograph theater on Ludlow St.
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