So, as it turns out, you literally can get anything at a Walmart Supercenter.
Even a drive-in movie.
On August 18 and 19, the Walmart on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel converted a large portion of its parking lot into a drive-in movie theater, which was part of a nationwide pop-up drive-in movie event touring the country and visiting 160 Walmart locations.
At this free event, Walmart stationed two large digital screens and cleared out a big section of its parking lot. Anyone was welcome to go online and register to see a showing of āSpy Kidsā on Tuesday evening and āSelenaāā on Wednesday evening.
Both showings were sold out, with about 70 cars lined up with families and couples
who received goody bags full of snacks and water at check-in.
āWe love this,ā said Wesley Chapel resident Janet Perez, who, with her son, enjoyed some drive-thru Taco Bell while watching āSpy Kids.ā It didnāt even matter that the movie was a hit 20 years ago.
āYou donāt know how much weāve missed movies!,ā Perez said. āPlus, this is both of our first time at a drive-in, so itās been great. It was great of Walmart to do this.ā
Families with little kids huddled in the front seat(s) of the cars to watch the movie and snack on popcorn, as the audio for the film could be heard by tuning the radio to 92.1 FM. Many of the cars enjoyed the experience with the windows down, as the Florida evening sky turned orange with the sunset.
In the end, it was a fun event that even new Wesley Chapel residents enjoyed.
āThis was definitely great, especially for families who donāt have a lot going on, or are low on money because of the virus,ā said new Wesley Chapel resident Tiffany Hardy, who said she recently moved here with her family from Leesburg.
Tiffany watched the movie with her husband, Jason, in the driverās seat and her son, Talon, on her lap (photo, right).
āItās nice to be able to get out of the house and do something a little different, too,ā she said.
When CMX, the parent company of Cobb Theatres and CineBistro, filed for bankruptcy in April, citing the damage done by the coronavirus, it officially brought to an end Wesley Chapelās popular movie theater in The Grove.
It also, however, has ushered in a new opportunity.
Developer Mark Gold, whose Mishorim Gold Properties owns The Grove, is remaking the popular 85,000-sq.-ft. movie theater into something that he says will be bigger and better.
āI am bringing something for the whole family,ā he says. And, donāt worry, he adds, the new project will still be a movie theater, itāll just be, āunlike any you have seen before.ā
To name a few of the major changes: Instead of 16 movie screens (and roughly 3,000 seats), there will be 12 screens, with at least one or two dedicated to children. The additional space freed up by consolidating the screens will be used to create a video game area that Gold says will resemble the popular arcade and restaurant/bar Dave & Busterās. There will be a sushi restaurant upstairs and one with more traditional American/theater food options below.
Outside, new landscaping and a mini-golf course will create an area for people to gather and make a night of it.
Gold says the entire facility will be redesigned, reimagined and most important, rejuvenated, and that there already are plans for an adjoining housing development featuring 540 townhomes and apartments.
āThis is going to be an entertainment complex like no other,ā says Tom Peck, the director of operations for The Grove Theater (working title).
The large arcade area ā which, in most theaters, is just a small room set off to the side with a dozen or so games set up ā will replace the current lobby, with games designed for teens and adults in one area, and games for younger players in another.
At least one or two of the movie theaters will be modified to serve as a ākids zone,ā with things like bean bag chairs and sofas for those watching the movie and a play area for those whoād rather climb through tubes and tunnels. The kids theater will be ideal, Gold says, for parents looking to watch a movie or enjoy dinner while their children watch something more suitable for their age.
Gold says he also is considering converting one theater into a ninja-style obstacle course for younger kids.
Before….…and after.
The other movie theaters will carry the latest Hollywood releases and will be fitted with newer, and more comfortable, leather reclining chairs. There will be VIP theaters, will full-fledged dining options like the old CineBistro model. āThe name wonāt be there,ā Peck says, ābut the same concept will continue.ā
You Still Have To Feel Safe
Gold says he is most pleased, however, with his plans to ensure safety. In an era where the Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything about the way the world does business, Gold promises that with each movie ticket, gaming pass and meal purchased, customers also will receive the one thing that will best allow them to enjoy the experience ā peace of mind.
State-of-the-art cleaning equipment will be employed to keep the theater virus-free. There will be hospital-grade fog machines and ultraviolet lights to disinfect walls, floors, handles, seats and the air in between each movie, and temperature monitors at the front door that will keep those showing coronavirus symptoms from entering.
Social distancing will be implemented, as will face masks, depending on the state of the virus when the theater opens.
āOur theater will be extremely safe,ā Peck says. āIt will have things in there no other company has ever been able to do because of the (costs associated with the) large number of theaters they control.ā
And, if you wonder what happens when (or if) Covid-19 finally passes, Gold says he is still playing the long game with his safety measures, because there will still be plenty of other germs out there and families will be looking to stay safer than ever in the future.
āEveryone is going to want to feel safer, more secure,ā Gold says. āEven 2-4 years down the road. The idea is we will be much safer than your grocery store. This place will be 3,4, 5-times safer because we are taking all these steps.ā
Only with these safety measures, Gold says, can he see his vision fulfilled, where families come out to play a round of miniature golf, enjoy a dinner together, see a movie and play some games afterwards. Instead of two hours in a theater, families can spend 4-5 hours enjoying a night of entertainment.
āIt will have everything in one complex,ā Gold says. āAt a normal movie theater, maybe you go eat before you come, then see the movie and go somewhere else after. But, this will have everything. Itās going to be a real destination spot.ā
The theater renovations, which Peck says could be completed sometime in September, are another part of a massive project at The Grove, which Gold purchased last September for $62.7 million.
By the end of the year, The Grove is expected to have more than 60 converted and redesigned shipping containers open at the trendy KRATE by Gold Box container park, which is being built on nearly 7 acres of land just west of I-75 and east of The Groveās big box retail stores like Best Buy and Dickās Sporting Goods.
A host of other restaurants, bars and businesses are opening now, or are expected to open soon in āThe Villageā portion of the 200-acre complex.
For leasing & other info, search āGrove At Wesley Chapelā on Facebook, call (407) 636-1266 or see the ad on pg. 1 of every issue of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News!
