Clear rules sought on beer, movies

BOISE – Would you like a beer with that movie?

In a few Idaho theaters, you can have one – though it’s not clear whether that’s legal.

Under a bill due to come up for a hearing Tuesday, the matter would be cleared up. Introduced by Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, the measure would give local officials a say in whether their movie theaters should be granted a liquor license.

“It would clarify what we’ve been doing for 21 years,” said Carole Skinner, president of the Flicks movie theater in Boise, which allows patrons to buy a beer or a glass of wine in the lobby restaurant and carry it into the movie theater with them.

The Flicks and a handful of Sun Valley movie theaters have been serving beer and wine with their movies for decades. Last year, the Idaho State Police Alcohol Beverage Control decided state law doesn’t allow that. Among other things, they were concerned that young people could drink beer and wine in the darkness of the theater.

“They’re not (breaking the law),” said Jaquet. “They have a license, but Alcohol Beverage Control is saying, ‘We probably shouldn’t have authorized this license.’ “

The police didn’t order the Flicks to stop; instead, the agency began investigating how the practice might be regulated.

The matter has come up in Ketchum and Hailey, where there are three movie theaters that serve beer and wine, said Karen Smith, who with her husband owns Metropolitan Rocky Mountain Cinemas.

To end confusion about the law, Jaquet has worked with police to come up with a bill that provides that cities can adopt local ordinances to allow certain theaters to sell beer and wine. The bill would also provide that it’s legal for young people to enter theaters where beer and wine are served. The theater would first have to obtain the state, county or other permits necessary for serving those drinks.

If passed, Jaquet’s bill would take effect immediately. She said changing the law would allow city officials to identify certain theaters – for example, small ones frequented by serious-minded adults – where drinking beer or wine would be appropriate.

“I’m not comfortable having beer and wine in all theaters with kids,” Jaquet said. “These are, for lack of a better word, boutique movie theaters.”

Skinner agreed, saying the Flicks – which shows foreign films, art films and the more thoughtful Hollywood movies – is not a place people go to get drunk.

“It’s almost embarrassingly tame,” said Skinner. “It’s sort of more a gourmet style.”

In a letter to Jaquet, Marshall Smith, Karen Smith’s husband, said most people who go to his theater buy only one beer or one glass of wine.

“Our patrons view the availability of beer and wine as simply another amenity not unlike the Ghirardelli chocolates and premium bottled waters that we serve and which other theaters usually do not serve,” said Smith, who also owns a theater in Aspen, Colo., that serves beer and wine.

The bill is due to come up for a hearing Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. in the House State Affairs Committee.

Skinner isn’t worried that the city of Boise, if given a chance, will put a stop to the beer and wine at the Flicks.

“We have grown-ups having a glass of wine with some food while they watch a movie,” she said. “It’s nothing to be afraid of or to be worried about.”