The renovated Uptown Theatre is aiming to reopen in late September at 2906 Hennepin Ave.

“We’re at the point where the new walls are up, and it’s going to start snowballing,” said Head Manager Patrick Cross. “We’re getting pretty close now.”

The theater is adding ovens to prepare food like mozzarella sticks and panini sandwiches for audiences to bring into the show. The restaurant fare is still under development.

“It’s definitely film-focused,” Cross said. “It’s not a hot dog, but it’s also not outsourcing spinach from an organic farm.”

The theater recently secured a new liquor license, and Cross is fielding a mountain of applications for the head bartender spot. The bar will serve simple drinks and high-quality liquor, and it won’t be a stand-alone operation. When movies start, patrons inside the theater are the only ones who will access the upper-level bar to order drinks.

The theater will feature stadium seats on the bottom floor. VIP-style seats will populate the balcony, perhaps netting higher ticket prices.

The theater shouldn’t become overly gentrified, however. Cross said small-budget films will remain the focus.

“We’re not going to start bringing in Hollywood movies,” he said, noting that midnight movies and The Rocky Horror Picture Show will stay on the schedule. “Right now, we’re still the same theater, hopefully with better food options.”

The renovated theater is now smaller, however, providing about half of the 900 seats it offered in the past.  Two retail spaces expanded to displace some of the seats. The new retailers include a men’s suit shop and a hat shop.  (Source: Southwest Journal)