Cinema Eatery Opening Delayed

The opening of Studio Movie Grill, a cinema eatery in Rice Lake Square will be delayed slightly as project managers decide how to remodel the former Linens 'n Things space, TribLocal reported Monday.

Wheaton Director of Planning Jim Kozik told TribLocal officials from the Dallas-based company have been acquiring the necessary permits to proceed with the project. 

Lynne McQuaker, a spokeswoman for Studio Movie Grill wrote in an email Tuesday, “Wheaton deserves the best cinema eatery Studio Movie Grill can build, and we are working hard to do just that. We have broken ground and can’t wait to open the doors to our first Illinois location and introduce our concept to the Wheaton community.”

Wheaton City Council in December passed an ordinance amending the Wheaton liquor control ordinance regarding licenses for movie theaters. City Manager Don Rose told Council members that the amendment was at the request of the new owners opening Studio Movie Grill. 

In a said of the ordinance and Studio Movie Grill, "Let's try to make life easy for them. They're coming into Wheaton. They're going to make an impact—let's be user-friendly." 

The cinema-eatery is expected to open after the first quarter of 2012, according to TribLocal. Studio Movie Grill will show major box office films in its nine theaters and serve from a menu of more than 100 items, according to Lynne McQuaker, director of creative affairs for Studio Movie Grill (SMG). 

Studio Movie Grill will be the tenant of the 30,000-square-foot space at 301 Rice Lake Square, a former movie theater before it was most recently occupied by Linens-N-Things. 

in September SMG will also offer its "SMG With a Twist" programming, which shows alternate films, films for viewers with special needs, educational series and $1 classics.

With eight locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX areas, Houston, TX, Atlanta and Scottsdale, AZ, the theater will be SMG's first in the midwest. SMG Founder and President Brian Schultz said in an email in September that Wheaton was selected because "it was a community that really cared about not only itself but also the surrounding areas and it had a very appealing demographic for our concept."