By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – If not being able to sip your favorite alcoholic concoction or brew kept you from enjoying that cinematic gem showing at Basie Center Cinemas, it’s time to buy your tickets.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a new law July 7 allowing nonprofit movie theaters focused on the arts to sell alcoholic beverages with a plenary retail license.
“Nonprofit theaters provide a world of good to our communities,” said Murphy in a statement July 8.
“Treating them the same as nonprofit corporations conducting musicals or theatrical performances and allowing them to serve alcohol will enhance the entertainment experience for theater-goers while enhancing their bottom line to ensure they remain afloat and continue to benefit our communities,” he added.
According to the governor’s office, the legislation will expand an existing law that already allows municipalities to issue plenary licenses to nonprofit theatrical arts organizations. “Nonprofit arts groups and venues, like other nonprofit entities, took a tough hit during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sen. Vin Gopal (D-11), who sponsored the legislation with Sen. Shirley K. Turner (D-15) and Assemblyman Sterley S. Stanley (D-18). According to Gopal, the law is “one way to help” art-house movie theaters recover and boost the entertainment value for patrons. According to the bill, the holder of this special license, known as a “theater license,” may serve alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises during the performance, as well as two hours before and after the performance, with the exception of certain smaller theaters where the amount of times they can serve alcohol during the two-hour post-show window is limited to 15 events per year. Additionally, theater licenses are not subject to the same population restriction as bars and restaurants that limit one license for every 3,000 residents in a municipality.
One of the state’s leading entertainment hubs located in Red Bank, the nonprofit Count Basie Center for the Arts might be able to turn Basie Center Cinemas at 36 White St. into a profitable venture, the only movie theater on the Jersey Shore to offer alcohol with the passage of this law.
Jonathan Vena, chief marketing officer for Count Basie Center for the Arts, confirmed that the organization initiated the process to acquire a liquor license last week through the borough in conjunction with the state’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the department that regulates the manufacture, distribution, sale and transportation of all alcoholic beverages in New Jersey.
Count Basie purchased the former Bow Tie Cinemas in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of its continuing mission to bring the arts to Monmouth County, ensuring inclusion and access to the performing arts.
“This legislation is critical to the survival of our independent cinema here in Red Bank, which we took over during the pandemic to ensure this venue could continue to operate and promote the art of film,” said Adam Philipson, president and CEO of Count Basie Center for the Arts in a release. “Along with the appreciation our audience will have in enjoying a glass of wine with their film, the revenue this new law will generate is critical to our mission.”
The article originally appeared in the July 27 – August 2, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
