History:

The Alamo Drafthouse was founded in Austin, TX by Tim and Karrie League, who were driven by a simple passion for watching movies and enjoying food and beer. The first theater was a fairly simple one screen operation that initially featured second run titles at discount rates, but the Leagues' passion for programming quickly soared past the standard repertory theater midnight fare and it wasn't long before Austin's cinematic luminaries like Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused) and Harry Knowles (Ain't  It Cool News.com) took notice.

Soon what was once a non-descript parking garage that the Leagues transformed into a theater with their own two hands became the hub for every true cinephile in central Texas.  Within its first year the venue was playing host to film premieres, visiting filmmakers, and even caught the eye of Quentin Tarantino, who began hosting legendary 5 day marathon screenings of classic exploitation titles from his personal collection.

Over the years, the original Colorado Street location became a laboratory for more innovative programming and events, and the Leagues began opening more theaters throughout Austin, this time as small multiplexes that would play a fresh mix of top Hollywood product and indie fare.

Today the Alamo is expanding and opening both company-owned and franchised locations across the U.S. Currently there are theaters throughout Texas in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, New Braunfels, Dallas, Lubbock and El Paso. Theaters across the country include Winchester, VA, Yonkers, NY, Kansas City, MO, Denver, CO, and Ashburn, VA. Plans are underway to open in several additional markets in the coming years!

Each Alamo Drafthouse location today is still managed with the same loving care to every detail of the experience, and all of the theaters in our network share in nationally produced signature programming and special events that have been inspired by those first experiments with alternative content that the Leagues developed in their original theater on Colorado Street.