NATO’s Director of Government Relations and Independent Theatre Owner Engagement Todd Halstead visits the Dine-In Cinema + FEC Summit in Austin, Texas, with its founders and organizers, Venue Valet’s Amy Mader and Matt Mader (proudly wearing UT checkerboard overalls on College GameDay in this photo).
This year’s sold-out and expanded Dine-In convention, now in its seventh year, attracted nearly 270 attendees, with the frank conversations, education and evening networking events spanning four days instead of the usual three. Attendees learned about innovations in building community, upgrading sight and sound, food & beverage, new developments in POS and cashless technology, and finding new ways to event-ize the moviegoing experience. This year’s early February event took place at several NATO member dine-in theatre destinations, including Flix Brewhouse in Round Rock, Cinépolis’ Moviehouse & Eatery and Schulman Theatres’ Film Alley in Georgetown, Texas. The Dine-In Cinema + FEC Summit also expanded their discussions devoted to family entertainment centers with various presentations and discussions related to FEC’s taking place throughout this year’s conference.
