Doraville Cinema 'N' Drafthouse
5742 Buford Highway NE,
Doraville,
GA
30340
5742 Buford Highway NE,
Doraville,
GA
30340
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Yeah, it was always a pain to park at the IMPERIAL. feeding parking meters.I never thought about passes,but mainly worked the Imperial when someone Quit,got fired or got sick.
I don’t know tisloews about the drinking part.I don’t think i ever drank a beer while in the theatre and on duty,but i guess taking a break next door at the Pizza joint is about the same thing.At one time there was talk about DANIEL VILLAGE here serving beer,but nothing came of it.
Heck, at the Triple in the mall the guys from Fort Gordon was alaways bringing beer in more there than any place i worked before.
How was the auditorium configured on this theatre; was it parallel with the lobby (similar to the Lefont Screening Room) or conventional (e.g. Cobb Cinema)? The site of cinema wasn’t much larger than the dining area of a Waffle House.
By the way Mike I think that I would be the Perfect Manager of a Movie and Tavern since I have done both but not at the same time. I would not have to sneak my beer or drinks in and put it in the ice machine,as I have done in the past.Keep the stories coming.
All our daily reports and everything else were hand written. We had to type our weekly reports on a “OLD” manual typewriter,and send all the dailys,bank receipts,ect, to New York every Friday.When we paid our vendors,we would write the checks in Nashville and mail them to New York to be signed. and they would mail them back to the vendors.We did not even know what a computer was then.Old school bookkeeping stuff I guess.Good time though! Also I used to get to park in the parking garage behind the Loews Crescent for movie passes as it was downtown and we did not have our own parking.
I wish i would have kept the copies on our BOR reports when COLUMBIA 1 and 2 opened. I never did spill wine on them. By the time i was leaving GCC computers were on the way in.
Tisloews, Same with me.At Columbia 1 and 2 we had a local pizza parlor and the owner would give me free pizza for movie passes.HIS MANAGER, would give me free beer for passes. I guess it was wrong to drink a couple of brews and work,but almost every manager around did it. I know, that does not make it right.How would you handle it at a cinema and drafthouse? see the neat TIE-IN. That’s a word i bet you don’t hear in the business anymore.
Yeah Ulver, I have eaten at Arnolds, it is good stuff, used to see Chet Atkins, and Jerry Reed in there sometimes.They waited on Chet he did not have to go through the line like everybody else.
Gonna be heading up that way pretty soon. Nice city. You can have you choice of either “slider”—-Krystal OR White Castle!
Plus you have my fave pizza of all-time: Sir Pizza
There’s another institution, that happens to be owned by friend’s of my family. Arnold’s Country Kitchen. Oh, the home-cooking! Yum!
Too bad the theatre was torn down.
Yes the only LOEWS CRESCENT that I have heard of.
The Loew’s Cresent in Nashville>?
Mike I thought of another, There was an oyster bar one block down from the LOEWS CRESCENT in printers alley you may have of heard of the alley “TOURIST TRAP”.When we were slow I would go downthere after a show had started and have a couple of beers and maybe a sandwich.About once a week I would take Betty the owner a cup sleeve full of fresh poped popcorn that was always good for a free beer or two.Those were the days.Back then you could get away with drinking at work as long as you kept yourself together, never caught any flax ever.I know this comment has nothing to do with this site, I just like to tell the stories.
Yeah Mike I remember one night I was drinking some wine in my office and spilled it all over our daily report.Of course it stained it pretty well. The next day I told our city manager that I spilled grape juice on it,he just kind of looked at me funny but did not say anything else about it.Had to mail all the dailies to New York at the end of the week with this one report all messed up.You could not rewrite them, all the managers and cashiers had their signatures and handrighting on them.So you could not forge another one.
I remember sitting out by the pool one summer and another manager and me were certainly enjoying the summer and our 12 pack or so of Bud. Man, thank goodness that night it was slow at COLUMBIA 1 and 2 and i passed out until checkout time in COLUMBIA 1. I bet that ain’t a new story. I won’t mention watching the NEWS YEARS FOOTBALL games and getting tipsy on Tommy’s moms PUNCH. Ithink i sat in the same seat and it was a slow night again.
I think that is the only times i was Feeling good at work!
Sounds like my kind of place Movies and Beer.
Ulver, I have an Atlanta constituion paper Oct. 19 1974 and tha ad shows it playing at the WEIS DORAVILLE. Maube, they were playing day and date even though they were close to each other,
Mike—-you sure “Flesh Gordon” wasn’t playing across the street, at the former Jerry Lewis cinema>? It was already getting kinda seedy about that time. IIRC, that shopping center was the original home to Tower package store, as well.
I think it opened as a WEIS CINEMA and was never bought out by WEIS from another chain.
Wasn’t this a WEIS CINEMA you guys keep talking about Mini Cinemas.
I have a WEIS DORAVILLE in Oct,19 1974 playing…
FLESH GORDON Rated X it was at three WEIS CINEMAS:
WEIS CINEMA WEIS CANDLER 1 and WEIS DORAVILLE.
Among the many films I saw at the DORAVILLE MINI CINEMA were:
WILLARD
THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE
LOST HORIZON
BONNIE AND CLYDE
LITTLE BIG MAN
HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS
NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS
KING KONG
OLIVER!
HELLO DOLLY!
THE HOUSE THAT SCREAMED
THUNDERBALL
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
For as small as the Doraville Mini Cinema was, it had a rather large screen. I remember thinking how small it was when I entered it for the first time. The movie was OLIVER! As the years went by and movie theaters by and large began to shrink in size, the Doraville mini Cinema began to look larger. We would often eat at KRYSTAL hamburgers afterwards, which was located right next door. I had wonderful movie going experiences at that theatre. Ones I will cherish forever.
I saw STAR WARS at Doraville Mini Cinema. Absolutely
My apologies Jack. I do not know why I was so arrogant as to think that my memory was better than yours.
As for you R2, this makes three times you have had to correct me. I think that from now on I will just send you my comments for vetting prior to posting. Either that or just end each comment with “…I think.”
Actually, you are both correct! “Star Wars” indeed played at both theaters. It played at DORAVILLE from June 29, 1977-December 15, 1977 and then at BUFORD HIGHWAY from December 23, 1977-June 1, 1978.
The Doraville Mini Cinema was the fourth of five theatres built around Atlanta by the Mini Cinema chain, and the last manager operated single screen. The next and last location was the Candler Road Twin which had a dedicated manager and separate projectionist. Both of these were built in new Grant City Shopping Centers. Doraville was much like the earlier Peachtree Battle and Sandy Springs locations with one screen, 370 seats and a tiny lobby. Two changes which made for a better presentation were a slightly curved screen and a Cinemation Mark 3 pegboard automation system for program management. The projectors were Century with 6000 foot reels.
Being located further away from the first run theatres than its predecessors, the Doraville was pretty successful at the start. (For a more detailed history of the Mini Cinema operation and its demise see my comment at the Sandy Springs Theatre page of this website.) After Weis bought out the chain and then left town the site was converted to a Cinema and Draft House which ran for many years. I do not know any details of this part of its history.
One correction on the above post: Star Wars never played at this location. That event took place across Buford Highway at the Septum Buford Highway Twin. That location started out as one of the ill fated Jerry Lewis Cinemas that was bought out by Septum who installed one of the first Dolby sound systems in Atlanta. During Christmas of 1977 they picked up Star Wars the day after its 5 month mono run at the Loews Tara ended. Thanks to heavy newspaper advertising with such slogans as “Loudest Sound In Atlanta” they did incredible business there for months.