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AMC Opening 11-Screen Dine-In Theater in Block 37 in Early 2016

 AMC will open an 11-screen theater in Block 37 in early 2016, the company announced Monday.
AMC will open an 11-screen theater in Block 37 in early 2016, the company announced Monday.
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Flickr/Jeff

THE LOOP — AMC Theatres will open a Loop location in Block 37 in early 2016 that includes the city's first adults-only screening rooms where viewers can order cocktails while they watch.

The theater company announced the opening Monday in a joint statement with investment firm CIM group, which is currently building a 34-story, 690-unit apartment tower above the Loop mall.

The theater will house 11 screens and occupy about 44,000 square feet of the mall's fourth floor, according to AMC.

Lizzie Schiffman Tufano says while servers might distract you, children will not:

One of those theaters will be Chicago's first "Cinema Suites experience," an AMC concept that offers "upscale in-theatre dining" exclusively for the 18-and-older crowd. Highlights include recliner seats with built-in tables that include buttons to summon servers, a full menu of appetizers, entrees and desserts, and cocktails, wine and beer.

 A sample Cinema Suites setup illustrates the recliner seats, pop-up tables and other features that will be offered at the new Loop theater.
A sample Cinema Suites setup illustrates the recliner seats, pop-up tables and other features that will be offered at the new Loop theater.
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Courtesy AMC Theatres

At the Cinema Suites theater, visitors can reserve seats when they buy their tickets. Sample menu items available during the movie include crab rangoon, chicken alfredo and New York-style cheesecake, according to AMC.

AMC's executive vice president of development, Mark McDonald, said in a statement that the company was "thrilled" to open a Loop location that would "serve as a perfect compliment to our other nearby popular AMC theatres," which include nearby locations at 600 N. Michigan Ave. and in Streeterville at River East 21.

Both nearby theaters were recently outfitted with the same power recliners that will sit in the Block 37 dine-in theater.

Other new features in the works for the mall facilitated by CIM group include a restarurant and bar from the team behind The Gage and Henri, and a Latin food court concept by Richard Sandoval on the third floor.

Longtime tenant Vincent Tan of Simply Thalia in the mall's Pedway said earlier this year that he had "mixed feelings" about Sandoval's plan to open a grab-and-go outpost next to his long-standing Thai restaurant, but said that "any growth in this space is a good thing." 

He said he's seen a steady rise in business since he opened more than five years ago in the mall at 108 N. State St. 

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