Webster’s District Theatres embraces community at a familiar spot
Star Cinema Grill’s District Theatres opened in July at 1020 West NASA Parkway in Webster. The theater is located where the former Star Cinema Grill was located from 2004—2015 before it was moved to Baybrook Mall.
“The idea for this theater was really about staying local, and a lot of people don’t want to mess with the traffic in getting to the mall with it being on the other side of I-45,” said Neil Kustanbauter, general manager of District Theatres. “The gigantic location at Baybrook Mall can serve over 2,500 people in a day and that loses some of the community and the intimacy with that type of crowding.”
The entire theater has six screens, and the larger theaters can seat more than 100 people. There are also two small theaters with 48 seats each, which they plan to use to show lesser-known movies.
“If you have a 250-seat theater and you pay to have a smaller movie shown and you only sell 30 seats, then that’s a huge loss,” Kustanbauter said. “We have the luxury of testing lesser-known movies, independent releases and arthouse pictures because a smaller theatre is much easier to fill. As we go on, I’m really interested to see what kind of fun things we can do like movie festivals or classic movie nights.”
Since the renovation from Star Cinema Grill to District Theatres, the biggest change is the furniture.
The previous seats have all been replaced by leather recliners with foot rests, and the large dining tables have been replaced with smaller, T.V.-tray-like swivel tables attached to the chairs.
“My favorite thing about the new place is the comfortable chairs and that we each get our own tray,” said David Lewis, history major. “The chairs lean back so far and you can stretch your feet out as far as you want without having to worry about anybody in front or behind you.”
Customers order food and drinks at a concession stand in the main lobby and receive a buzzer to notify them when their food is ready to be picked up.
“I also like that you order your food outside of the actual theater room,” Lewis said. “I hate the distraction of seeing waiters walking in front of me the whole time.”
District Theatres uses an assigned seating system where customers choose their exact seats online, at the box office, or at self-service kiosks. Customers have the option of buying tickets from employees inside the theater, in case they are not comfortable with the electronic method or want to ask questions.
Kustanbauter said that the theater prides itself on having a locally sourced menu.
“At first I was kind of disappointed because the menu didn’t have as many options as the one at Baybrook,” said Muhammed Khan, accounting major. “But the quality of the food was definitely a notch above them [Star Cinema Grill at Baybrook]. I had a short rib Panini, and it was easily restaurant quality.”
The theater also features a full bar with craft cocktails, hand-selected wine and 18 taps of beer, most of which is from Houston.
“Whereas Star Cinema Grill captured the casual dining menu in that luxurious environment, we went with a more scratch-made, farm-to-table cuisine,” Kustanbauter said. “We want to stay true to our local producers and get as much of our food and beverages as we can locally. We do things like using produce from Waco, chicken from the Fort Worth area, and over 60 percent of our beer list is made in the Houston area.”
Kustanbauter believes that the community-based theater is a great place for families and people of all ages.
“We have a nice range of pictures right now from ‘Despicable Me’ to ‘Baby Driver,’” Kustanbauter said. “So, I think this is an ideal place for all individuals and families who want an elevated traditional movie experience.”
For more information on District Theatres, call them at 281-724-8173 or email webster@districttheatres.com.
