Brooklyn-based Nitehawk Cinema puts its film-themed menus in new cookbook
More than a decade ago, Matthew Viragh was a Texan with a dream. He wanted to serve moviegoers booze and prepared food as they sat in their seats in Brooklyn. But he had a state Prohibition-era liquor ban to contend with first.
Viragh, who left advertising for the theater business, hired an Albany lobbyist. The lobbyist rounded up some friendly lawmakers, and Nitehawk Cinema got its wish in 2011, becoming New York State’s first legal dine-in theater in Williamsburg. Then, Viragh began creating cocktail and food selections themed to the movies he was offering. A second Nitehawk, at Bartel Pritchard Square opposite Prospect Park, opened in 2018.
“It was a long shot,” he told The Associated Press. “I didn’t quite expect it to happen, so we were prepared to operate how we initially set it up, where we would have a restaurant and bar in the front area. It certainly has created opportunities for other theaters, too.”