Construction of Cinema-Eatery to Begin Next Month

Wheaton City Council Monday approved a change to the planned unit development (PUD) for (SMG), the dine-in movie theater that will open at 301 Rice Lake Square in Wheaton this year.

Dave Olson, director of construction and project management for SMG told Council Monday he plans to begin interior demolition work within the next two weeks, and more intensive work by the second week of February.

After an estimated three-month project he said he expects to have the grand opening late in the second quarter.

The Dallas-based company, SMG, will renovate the former Linens ‘N Things building, a 30,000-square-foot space into a movie theater and restaurant. The approved changes to SMG's building plans include a redesign of the building's façade, construction of a 3,342-square-foot addition to the building to contain an expanded auditorium and a small addition for food service equipment, according to a city memo. City Manager Don Rose told Council Monday city staff recommended the proposed changes to the project.

Olson said SMG's modifications to the building's original design have added about one month to six weeks of work on the theater.

Lynne McQuaker, a spokeswoman for Studio Movie Grill wrote in an email Jan. 9, “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 Councilman Tom Mouhelis said Monday he's, "glad they're in town," and he'd be present at the grand opening.

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 wrote 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."