Warren Old Town is dead, but local film fan hopes she can lure another coveted movie house

The curtain has now officially dropped on the Warren Old Town Theatre. The five-screen movie theater at 353 N. Mead in Old Town Square, which represented the latest in movie-going luxury when it opened in the summer of 2003, showed its final films on Thursday night.

Now, local movie fans — even those who hadn’t seen a movie there in years amid talk of declining service under Regal Cinemas, which took over all of Bill Warren’s local theaters six years ago — are mourning the end of an era.

Most of them, anyway.

One particularly passionate Wichita movie fan has been getting attention this week for a change.org petition she launched asking a popular theater chain — Alamo Drafthouse Cinema — to take over the Old Town Warren. As of Friday morning, her petition had been signed by 2,276 people.

Jennie Iseli, a lifelong movie fan and employee at Wichita’s Trader Joe’s, launched the petition on Monday and in it lays out a thoughtful, researched argument for why Alamo Drafthouse — an Austin-based company with 39 theaters across the United States — is the right fit for Wichita. Among her bullet points are the chain’s “superior viewing experience,” “food and beverage selection,” “unique programming” and “strict no-talking policy.”

The theaters typically offer a full menu of food items like fried appetizers, sandwiches and pizzas, a full bar and comfortable reclining chairs with big trays to hold snacks. They also often screen more than just first-run films.

“By signing this petition, you are expressing your desire for Alamo Drafthouse Theaters to bring their exceptional movie experience to Wichita by acquiring the Oldtown Warren theater,” she wrote in the petition. “Together, let’s show Alamo Drafthouse that Wichita is ready for an upgrade in our cinema offerings!”

The nearest Alamo Drafthouse theaters to Wichita is in Springfield, Missouri, but Iseli — who has attended film festival screenings at Alamo Drafthouse theaters in Texas — sees no reason why Wichita can’t have one as well. Springfield, she notes, has 1/3 the population of Wichita and is able to support the chain. Plus, she said, her employer — Trader Joe’s — opened in Wichita after a Facebook page begging for the company to consider Wichita gained more than 4,000 followers, several of whom petitioned the store to come.

It may not have been related. But it may have.

“I just really hope we can keep the momentum going,” Iseli said. “If we can keep it up at the rate we’re going, we can ideally get to 10,000 signatures, and I think that would get their attention and make them realize we’re serious, we want this and we support this.”

No one with Alamo Drafthouse Cinema returned requests for comment this week. A representative for the theater’s landlord — a company that is based in Kansas City, Missouri, — declined comment.

But Iseli and the petition’s supporters are undaunted. Among the comments left on the petition under “reasons for signing” were:

▪ “The Old Town Warren was designed with Alamo in mind. While they never quite nailed it, Bill Warren got close. But once Regal Cinema took over, it all went to hell. Please, Alamo, come make our film experience dreams come true!”

▪“I love going to movies but in recent years the experience has gotten worse and worse by people simply not respecting the rest of the audience. Talking and cell phone usage is out of control and I LOVE Alamo Drafthouse’s policy when it comes to these types of issues!”

▪“The Old Town Warren could be such a great theater and movie-going experience. I would love to see this happen.”

Though Alamo Drafthouse is Iseli’s first choice, she said she’d be happy if someone else with a vision took the Warren over.

“Alamo Drafthouse is a big focus of my petition,” she said. “But I’d also support someone locally making it a small, independent theater that’s locally run. As long as they care about the film community and the building and maintaining its integrity and legacy, I welcome that as well.”

To view Iseli’s petition, visit change.org and search for “Bring Alamo Drafthouse Theaters to Wichita”