While beer and popcorn isn’t a rare combination, a brewpub operating inside a movie theater is not the standard for California. But Soledad is set to get the state’s first, located inside Premiere Cinemas.
“We’re going to be the first brewery in California that is inside a theater,” says Michael Carrillo, Reel Rock Brewery co-owner.
Reel Rock Brewery is owned by a group of musicians and Soledad natives who started producing beer in 2014 under the CSA Craft Beer Distributing label. Their beer is currently sold on tap at locations in the tri-county area including XL Public House in Salinas and Fourth Street Tap House in Gonzales. “We want to bring business to Soledad,” Carrillo says.
Two screening rooms will be turned into a brewery, bar area and beer garden. The space will have several (smaller) screens to showcase sports events including soccer and Formula 1. The Premiere Cinemas menu will be expanded to include pizza, wings and more, in addition to inviting food trucks to operate in the beer garden, says brewery co-owner Diego Ramirez.
Balesteri Construction, a Salinas-based commercial construction company, will be in charge of the four-month project, which broke ground on Thursday, June 5. Anthony Balesteri, owner of Balesteri Construction, thinks the concept is great because customers can do different things in the same spot: watch a movie, grab a beer, spend time at the bar or attend an event.
The project was two years in the making, requiring several visits from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control before getting the green light. The theater opened in 2021.