BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Its marquee still was blank Tuesday, but the new Nitehawk Cinema in Park Slope will be packed with offerings at its grand opening Wednesday night. The refurbished theater will have seven screens, two full-service bars for people with or without movie tickets, and a thematic menu for the dine-in theater experience.

 “We just wanted to play movies that were excited about and really kind of geek out on food and beverage and get inspired by those movies,” said Matthew Viraugh, the founder of Nitehawk Cinema.

Housed in a landmark movie theater, this renovated venue is triple the size of the original Nitehawk theater in Williamsburg. It operated as the Sanders Theater in 1928 when trolleys rolled across Prospect Park West and Rin Tin Tin was a movie star. One of the city’s oldest continuous movie theaters, it was later renamed The Pavilion, until it shut down in 2016.

“It was really horrible shape,” Viraugh said. “There were rats roaming that clearly lived here for decades, potentially. They were very comfortable here.”

The theater underwent a $15 million renovation that preserved a marble staircase, newlyu exposed brick walls, balconies, stained glass and other ornate details. It also features archival 35 millimeter film projectors and a VHS curated showcase. But what Nitehawk is really known for is its full menu in-theater food and beverage service.

Or you could opt for popcorn. This Nitehawk specialty comes with truffled butter.

“We developed a new way to close out called Dine and Dash,” said Viraugh. “You basically opt-in when you buy tickets online. It saves your credit card information and applies it to your food and drink and you don’t even have to have a check dropped at the end of the screening. You can   just get up and leave and you get an email with the receipt."

Photo courtesy: Sakeenah Saleem