Alamo Drafthouse Puts Empty Seats Between Fans in Virus Response

(Bloomberg) -- Alamo Drafthouse, the theater chain known for its beers and gourmet food offerings, is asking guests in San Francisco to spread out because of the coronavirus, and will cap the number of tickets sold at one of its largest theaters as a safety precaution.

Guests are being asked to ensure there’s an empty seat between their party and other customers, though the process will soon be automated, the theater operator said in a blog post on Thursday. Alamo Drafthouse is taking other steps to ease customer anxieties, such as increasing cleaning.

The actions are among the first visible steps taken by theater owners in response to the pandemic. While governors from New York, Washington and California have all directed businesses to limit public gatherings, larger chains such as AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Regal haven’t announced any concrete steps.

Limits on public gatherings come at a tough time for movie exhibitors. Several big films that would have drawn audiences, including “Mulan,” “No Time to Die” and “A Quiet Place Part II,” have been delayed as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. An annual gathering where theater operators could discuss how to cope with these sorts of crises, called CinemaCon, was canceled because of the virus.

Only one of Alamo Drafthouse’s theaters in California exceeds 250 seats -- the cap on public gatherings sought by Governor Gavin Newsom. The chain has “deactivated sections of seats” in that theater to stay under the limit, according to the blog post.

The chain is offering employees up to 14 days’ sick leave if they have to leave work for testing or if they contract the virus.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kelly Gilblom in Los Angeles at kgilblom@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum

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