Empire Cinema & Eatery - Island Bay
4.3/5
★
based on 8 reviews
About Empire Cinema & Eatery
A LITTLE ABOUT THE EMPIRE
Origins
The corner section on The Parade and Mersey Street was purchased in 1902 by a Mr Stanley Chisholm but not developed until 1924 when he commissioned the construction of the theatre, shops and billiard hall. The theatre was a two story building with a shop on either side selling cinema ice-cream and a hair salon and a single story billiard hall on the west side with a separate entrance. When completed the buildings were sold to The Empire Theatre Company whose manager was a well known Wellington personality, Mr Tartakover.
1925-1964
The first film screening on 21 March 1925 was the silent production of The Last of the Duanes starring Tom Mix and Marion Nixon, directed by Lynn Reynolds. Sound effects were provided by a piano. There were no ‘shorts’ cartoons or newsreels available, so additional live stage entertainment was provided. On opening night, Arline Power and Leo Coffey gave a display of ballroom and fancy dancing. The first ‘talkie’ shown on 14 June 1930 was Honey, a Broadway musical, adapted to film, starring Nancy Carroll and Stanley Smith.
The billiard room closed in 1928 with the extension used as an auditorium and for extra seating. Structural damage from the March 1943 earthquake closed the cinema until reopening in October 1943 as the New Empire. The New Empire closed its doors on 1 June 1964, due to falling cinema attendees nationwide. The last film shown was Foxhole in Cairo, starring James Robertson Justice and Nidl McGinnis.
1964-2004
Late 1964 until 1970, Bata Shoe Co used the auditorium as a store and made a loading dock on the Mersey St side. The hairdresser’s salon remained in business until 1975. Over the next few years, ownership changed many times with different proposals for the building. In 1980 the building was taken over by Wellington Decorators and Furnishings as ‘a one stop shop’. After another change of hands in 1990, it became known as Island Bay Hardware until closing in 2004.
Cinema Again
The Werry and Hays families took over the building in 2004 and completely renovated it internally into three boutique cinemas and cafe, opening on 1 September 2005 with Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. The cinema was sold in 2013, to Island Bay local Pat Vinaccia. The interior has been completely revamped with three boutique cinemas and eatery for its grand re-opening on May 14th 2015. The first movie screening is Woman in Gold, starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.
The newly vamped cinema once again promises to be a treasured gem of the community. Each cinema holds between 49 and 65 people, showing mainstream blockbusters, family movies and art-house titles. With an A-grade seismic strength and attention to detail in the service areas, it’s friendly and cosy, with plenty of room alongside each sofa for your coffee, wine or a snack. The Empire Cinema & Eatery is a place to meet, connect, unwind and belong.
Contact Empire Cinema & Eatery
| Address : | Empire Cinema & Eatery 214 The Parade, Island Bay, Wellington 6023, New Zealand |
| Phone : | 📞 +9977 |
| Postal code : | 6023 |
| Website : | http://www.empirecinema.nz/ |
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Caleb M on Google
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Went to see dr strange tonight, sound was piercingly loud, left the cinema with ringing ears and significant ear aches. Does the team there not check the sound for movies? Movie finished 20 minutes ago and my ears are still ringing with pain.
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Gill Burns on Google
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Lovely local cinema - definitely not a big chain. Serve nice hot food and a glass of wine so go early.
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Melanie Baker on Google
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Front of house is unfortunately a truly random experience due to x1 person. I have had the regrettable experience of him twice in past month and I Am by no means a regular visitor due to minimal expendable income- damn common in Wellington for an average person. Rest of the team are truly fabulous and are so obviously let down by his poor manner and apparent judgement. What a shame. He is blatantly rude and unhelpful, short balding dude who cares nil iota. What a shame for those who have to work beside him
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Joe Schumacher on Google
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Forget the food, the shakes in this joint are ***** amazing, worth a drive across town just for them alone.
Speaking of the food, it's 'good', as is the coffee and selection of sorbets
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Samantha Macia on Google
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ I love this place. The food & snacks are so reasonably priced for a theater and it’s a really fun atmosphere to get dinner & see a movie. The food is really good (though I’d love to see more vegan options) and the popcorn/drink combo is reasonable (plus the popcorn comes in a cute little box & the soda comes in a glass!). Tuesday night movies for $10 is such a good deal. And the people who work here are really friendly. Definitely recommend for a night out.
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Glenn Jones on Google
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Lovely building I lived near here way back when this was a Hammer Hardware store, now stylishly redecorated cinema/cafe. Nice coffee and reasonable range of cabinet food (also menu meals available); service was prompt and polite, clear in terms of Covid19 sign-in and seating arrangements; pleased there's secure cycle racks outside, nice place to sit, relax and watch the world go by.
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Ray Ching on Google
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Cute and comfortable seating. Clean, well presented premises and friendly staff.
Fried chicken was poor, chips and sauces were good, all fair price, and you can take drinks and snack menu items into theatre. Rest of the menu and cabinet looked good.
Brilliant sound calibration quality for a small theatre. The visuals (Spiderman, no way home) blurred a lot in many fast scenes, but I believe this is common with new standard AV on older standard projectors.
Go treat yourself!
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Emma M on Google
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The romanticism and low stress of this historic and plush cinema is unbeatable. Low-priced tickets paired with cafe options or the more traditional popcorn and drinks. Plenty of restrooms, indoor and outdoor cafe seating, and friendly and helpful staff. The theatres are small and intimate yet very spacious and comfortable, with large screens and amazing sound quality. Highly recommend!
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