Center City Scenes: Summertime means dinner, movie downtown

Couples need good value for their entertainment dollars, and they demand convenience. A new downtown Dinner and a Movie program delivers both and offers a romantic setting as icing on the cake.

Value

The Downtown Springfield Association is partnering with its member restaurants to offer customers the opportunity to buy a Moxie Cinema or Hollywood Theaters ticket for $5 with each entrée purchased. This represents a savings of $3 to $4 per ticket, or approximately 40 percent of the cost of a movie.

The cost of the ticket will be shared by the theaters and restaurants with the goal of enticing customers to check out Moxie's new location in Wilhoit Plaza and Hollywood's 14 first-run screens, to discover the dozens of downtown restaurants, and to establish new habits for date nights. The pilot project runs June 1-Aug. 31.

Convenience

"Where can I park?" is a frequently asked question for those who have not been downtown for some time. The College Station and Heer's parking garages offer a total of nearly 800 spaces, and two surface lots at Campbell and Olive provide another 150 spaces.

In total, there are more than 1,000 free parking spaces within one block of Hollywood Theater.

Moxie Cinema patrons can choose from more than 200 free parking spaces within a block, considering Wilhoit Plaza's surface lot and on-street parking spots.

Once parked, couples have their choices of more than a dozen participating DSA restaurants, including Big Whiskey's, Bruno's, Fedora's, Kai, Maria's, Mille's, Nonna's, Quizno's, Rendezvous Coffee House, Riad's, Springfield Brewing Co., Trolley's and Ziggie's.

Romance

While money savings and convenient parking are more tangible, downtown offers a third ingredient - the romantic stroll. Walking from the restaurant to the movie provides couples the chance to meander arm-in-arm down the sidewalk to window shop, check out a book or video at the Park Central Library, gaze upon the latest exhibit at one of 20 art galleries, listen to local bands performing on Park Central Square, or buy a bouquet of flowers at the new Friday Night Farmers Market on the square.

For those with willpower to leave enough room from dinner and popcorn at the movie, there are a multitude of late night treats such as coffee and desserts at a coffeehouse or drinks at a nightclub.

There are few things more romantic than an evening stroll with your significant someone in a vibrant urban setting.

Save money, enjoy convenience, and hearten romance this summer with the Dinner and a Movie program. It's time to create new memories downtown.[[In-content Ad]]Rusty Worley is executive director of Urban Districts Alliance.