Marcus Theatres announced plans Friday to renovate the East Park Cinema theaters at 66th and O streets and said the six-screen complex will be closed during the three months the work is expected to take.
Work will start Tuesday.
All six theaters will get DreamLounger leather recliners, and two of the theaters will be turned into SuperScreen DLX auditoriums, which feature premium, large-format screens and Dolby Atmos sound systems.
Marcus also plans extensive updates to the lobby, box office and corridors and will apply for a liquor license.
Concessions improvements include the addition of a Zaffiro's Express, which offers appetizers, sandwiches, salads, desserts and handmade thin-crust pizza.
Marcus remodeled one theater at The Grand Cinema in downtown Lincoln last year, adding DreamLounger recliners and a larger screen. The company also added a Zaffiro's Express and a Take Five Lounge that serves alcohol.
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While East Park will not have a Take Five Lounge, a Marcus spokeswoman said there are plans to serve beer and wine there.
East Park will be the first complex in Lincoln to get a complete makeover. When the renovations are complete, it will be one of only about a dozen Marcus Theatres complexes with recliner seating in all auditoriums, the company said in a news release.
“Adding comforts, conveniences and updates to the moviegoing experience is very important,†Marcus President and CEO Rolando Rodriguez said in the news release. “The DreamLounger recliners have been getting rave reviews from our customers at other locations, so we’ve made that an important part of the renovations at the Marcus East Park Cinema."
Rodriguez said the upgrades will "help transform Marcus East Park Cinema into even more of an entertainment destination."
Marcus hopes to have the theaters reopened by the end of May, which is the start of the summer season. The company did not say how much the project will cost, but it filed an $800,000 building permit last month.
Marcus did not say why it chose East Park for the makeover, but the theater is the oldest one it owns in Lincoln. It opened as a three-screen theater in 1981 and expanded in 1997 to six screens with stadium-style seating, a first for Lincoln at the time.