Handing out blue stickers to a small crowd of attendees, John DeStefano, Jr. and his campaign went to the movies Friday —” to see the downtown Criterion Cinema open two new screens.
The Criterion on Temple Street, which opened November 2004, has done well enough to open two new screens, bringing its total to seven. The screens opened just in time to show two new flicks: “The Black Dahlia,” directed by Brian DePalma, and “Half Nelson” starring Ryan Gosling.
Blue DeStefano for Governor stickers glowed in the dark new theater Friday, as City Hall employees, DeStefano campaign staff and downtown businesspeople gathered for a “film-cutting” ceremony. DeStefano spoke of how, just a few years ago, that strip of Temple Street looked “dark and threatening.” The theater has brought night life and has been a catalyst for the rush of new restaurants on that block, dubbed the “Temple Comeback.”
Bow Tie Partners, a real estate development company that owns the cinema, also has apartments upstairs. The 44 units are full, with a waiting list, said the apartment building manager.
Across the street, a couple of the stores have changed hands since an April promotional tour. Owners of the Safari Caffeine Lounge skipped town after the leopard-print shop with its racey cup-holders failed to attract much business, then parts of the store were sabotaged in an unexplained act of violence. Bella’s Downtown Market Caf√© has been replaced by a new deli restaurant called Katz 2.
City Economic Development Director Kelly Murphy said new establishments, like Kudet√ɬ°, that are “attuned to the marketplace” and whose hours suit movie-goers, have thrived. She applauded the new activity: “Until five years ago this was quiet. It was not a place that was inviting. I mean why come down here?”
Free promotional movie tickets —” 20 were offered to the first to show up at the event —” were snatched up within minutes.