PORT RICHEY — The most expensive tickets are $8.50, the movies are first run, the snacks include mozzarella sticks and in four out of six theaters you can lean back and put your feet up.
Those are some of the factors that have made the family-owned Cinema 6 a local favorite for family and date-night movie outings. But according to Chanel Casteel, who with Jason Dover has owned and operated the theater for more than a decade, the movie industry isn’t what it used to be.
“Streaming has knocked the numbers down for the theater,” Casteel said. “And when they don’t put out good movies, we don’t have people coming to the theater. But we still have bills to pay.”
The couple recently expanded into adjacent space to build an arcade, along with a café and a party room, accessible through the theater. The combined businesses are now Cinema 6 (the theater) and Level Up Entertainment (the arcade area).
The arcade has something for everyone, including small tots, although most of the games appear geared to older children, or adults who are kids at heart. The space also includes a dining area that will offer food cooked in the theater’s full kitchen, along with specialty milkshakes and, for the grown-ups, beer, wine and cider.
Casteel said the alcohol will be self-serve — you put money on a card and automation keeps track of how much you pour. This system, she said, allows her mostly teenage staff to work behind the counter without actually serving alcohol.
Adults unaccompanied by gamers can also enjoy the café — for example, Casteel says her book club will be holding its December meeting there. Alternatively, grown-ups can take in a movie while their (well-behaved) children enjoy the arcade. By that time, she hopes, the whole complex will be fully operational.
This may be the largest change for the theater, but it’s not the first. Last year saw a major overhaul of some of the screening rooms, and before that, the change from 35 mm film to digital streaming was a major effort, Casteel said. Amid changing technologies and changing tastes — as well as uncontrollable factors, such as the recent hurricanes and their effect on the economy and people’s immediate priorities, “we’ve had to get really creative and think outside the box” to get people through their doors, she said.
Though Casteel was involved in setting up the food and drink areas, it was Jason, along with their youngest daughter, Ella Dover, who selected the games and planned the arcade setup. Jason wants Level Up Entertainment to open a second location in about two years, maybe with mini golf or racing. Ella, who at 16 is already studying business, has plans to run that location herself.
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Which would be in keeping with the family-first ethos of the business. Casteel said all her children have worked there, and her oldest daughter recently came back because she can bring her new baby on the job. And she and Jason consider the high school kids they’ve hired over the years to be part of their own family.
The new complex, she said, will be a place where others can come and enjoy a few hours or a day out with the family all in one place.
Cinema 6 is located at 9510 U.S. 19 in Port Richey. For more information and tickets, visit thecinema6.com.
