“See you at the movies,” soon will have new meaning for Peachtree City and eastern Coweta County moviegoers.
The NCG Peachtree City Cinemas is expected to open in mid-January at the new Fischer Crossing commercial development in east Coweta County at Fischer Road and Ga. highways 34 and 54, one-half mile west of Peachtree City.
But it is what moviegoers will find inside the theaters that makes NCG’s entree into southwest metro Atlanta decidedly different from the norm.
Jeff Geiger, vice president of corporate development, said one of the differences in the cinemas begins when moviegoers walk up to the door. First off, there is no ticket booth. Tickets for the cinemas’ all first-run movies will be purchased just inside the building along the left wall at the concession area.
As for the popcorn and drinks, just order them up and the attendant will hand you an empty cup and tub.
That might not make much sense at first but it soon will, because just beyond the ticket-taker and lining the rear of the lobby are the dispensers for a variety of drinks and several popcorn machines, which again an attendant will fill.
The popcorn can be spruced up, Geiger said, with butter and various salts that will be located on an island in the area. But perhaps the greatest difference at NCG are the free refills that come with any size drink and tub of popcorn.
Geiger said there will be something else in the lobby that almost no moviegoer has ever seen in any cinema. It’s the digital projection equipment for one of the theaters, placed on the exterior of the seating area and on a small balcony area high up on the wall across from the concession area.
Down either hallway are the cinema’s 10 screens. The seating accommodations range from 150-350 seats, all of which are form-fitting, high-back rockers, Geiger said. All theaters will come with stadium seating with some limited seating up close and directly in front of the screen. Keeping the floor seating to a minimum allows NCG to bring the screen closer to the stadium seating platforms, Geiger explained.
Geiger said all 10 theaters will be outfitted with digital projection and sound and four of the screens will have 3D-capable projectors.
Perhaps saving the most interesting of the cinemas’ features until last, Geiger walked into one last theater. It is outfitted with the NCG Xtreme screen: a huge screen that fills the entire wall and measures 60 feet wide and 30 feet high and features enhanced digital sound and “Real D 3D” capability.
As for the seating in the Xtreme theater, it comes with VIP rockers situated on multiple platforms that rise nearly three stories above the floor. And to make sure moviegoers will have an even clearer view of the giant screen, Geiger said NCG has installed risers between the seating levels that are 18 inches in height, seating the movie fan heads and shoulders above the person in front of them.
Beside the obvious close proximity to the large east Coweta population and the equally close proximity to Peachtree City, Tyrone and much of Fayette County’s population there is another facet of the business opening that is also noteworthy, especially in today’s economy. NCG will generate 50 new jobs and, for Coweta County, will be a source of sales tax revenue.
The NCG Peachtree City Cinemas on Hwy. 54 near Fischer Road in east Coweta County is expected to open in mid-January.
NCG will be the first business on the northeast corner of the large Fischer Crossing development at Fischer Road and highways 34 and 54. The new Sam’s Club store on the northwest corner of Fischer and Hwy. 34 is also expected to open in January.
The Michigan-based Neighborhood Cinemas Group currently operates a dozen cinemas, including one in Indiana another in Tennessee and one in north metro Atlanta in Acworth that opened two years ago. As for NCG’s decision to move to Fischer Crossing in east Coweta, and just a stone’s throw from Peachtree City, Geiger said that was simple.
“The area fits our demographic, small cities and growing communities with a positive future,” Geiger said of Coweta and Fayette counties. “We’re thrilled to be here.”
An alteration will soon be made at the intersection where Hwy. 54 turns south and Hwy. 34 continues on to Newnan. Though it may not be evident due to the presence of a large berm fronting the north side of the highway, construction crews will soon begin installing the entry drive to the cinemas, essentially creating a four-way intersection at the traffic signal.
The new commercial area as a whole is currently ongoing significant transition. Beyond the construction of the initial businesses, road crews are installing a number of turn lanes and other traffic-flow improvements along Hwy. 34, Hwy. 54 and Fischer Road.
