Last weekend marked the official opening of the brand new iPic theater at the South Street Seaport on Oct. 7. Located at 11 Fulton Street in the remodeled Fulton Market building, this is iPic’s first NYC location, and we have no doubt that this will be the new go-to for Lower Manhattan’s moviegoers — and draw crowds from all over the city.
“The experience, the architecture, the art that you saw when you walked in here, we don’t replicate that from location to location. So each location is unique onto itself,” said Michelle Soundry, founder and CEO of Gab Group who handles iPic’s PR.
“I’m really excited to share this experience with you and for you to meet all of the incredible spear headers behind the iPic brand experience,” Soundry said as she welcomed the guests at the press preview on Oct 6.
The Seaport’s new iPic theater features eight auditoriums with plenty of seats — even debuting their new options: iPic’s patented Pod and Chaise Lounge seating, bringing the experience to the ultimate comfort level. Each seat also comes with a blanket and pillow and equipped with buttons to make sure, your seat is exactly to your comfort.
“We looked at every aspect of movie-going, looked at all of the negatives and turned the negatives into positives. The four biggest complaint we heard from people were they have sticky floors, noisy, kids are running in and out of the theater. It’s not comfortable, so we addressed every single one of them,” explained Hamid Hashemi, President & CEO of iPic Entertainment.
“Looking at the comfort and convenience that you have in your home, what do we do? We lie on a couch, really comfortable, great sound system, pillow and a blanket and you sip on your drink. Now you can do it right inside of an auditorium and have an assured experience,” he continued.
More than that — and probably our favorite part — the menu! There is the “Dining in the Dark” experience, in which food will be brought to your seat all at the mere push of a button.
Masterfully created by chef Sherry Yard and master bartender and sommelier Adam Seger, no one will be left hungry or thirsty. Just wanting more. And luckily there is plenty to choose from. The menu reads dishes such as Reuben Croquettes and Chinois Chicken Salad Wrap, while the drink menu shakes up specialty cocktails like Empire State of Mind Manhattan and Big Apple Margarita.
“I think it’s all important for you to know that we make everything we can from scratch, and if it isn’t made from scratch, it’s made by friends of mine and they make it to my speck,” said Sherry Yard about the quality of the menu. It features many dishes made in collaboration by Yard and her friends.
“To understand the food just a little bit, it’s always my favorite food that I love to eat, I call it crave-able American cuisine, food that I love to eat every day,” Yard explained.
The cocktails deserve a few words of their own. An extensive list of specialty cocktails mixed with tried-and-true classics, seasonal brews and coffee “dessertails” for a little sweet pick-me-up.
“What’s really behind it is the passion and the love — and that’s what iPic is all about. The passion that everyone has about the movies, we try and bring that in the glass for you. And it doesn’t just stop at the cocktails, if you’re a beer drinker, we’re working with some of the top micro-brewers here in the city,” said Adam Seger.
“I absolutely love making drinks and I hire people who love making drinks. And that’s really at the essence of at the deference of what we’re all about,” he added.
Guests can enjoy both the food and the drinks without the movie experience. On the third floor of the multiplex, they will find the Tuck Room, a destination drinking and dining den inspired by the city that brought cocktail culture to vibrant life.
The iPic theater has found itself in great company at the South Street Seaport with neighbors such as Guess and Hornblower Cruise and events as well as the future home of Momofuku and a Jean Georges restaurant. The iPic theater will be yet another attraction at the Seaport only cementing the Seaport District as one of the hottest destinations of Lower Manhattan.
“First of all, we’re thrilled to have iPic opening their first cinema in New York in the South Street Seaport. It’s exactly what we’ve been telegraphing to the market where we want to go,” explained Phillip St. Pierre, General Manager for the South Street Seaport.
“iPic has a wonderful experience that they’re delivering to the customer and – that’s kind of a thread that you’re going see running throughout everything that we do over the next few years. It’s all going to be about experiences and bringing something to Manhattan that isn’t really easy to place in any particular project,” he added.
Downtown was in attendance for iPic’s press opening on Oct 6. and was delighted to try out the full experience with comfortable seating, cocktail concoctions, bites of the crave-able food and an exclusive preview of the psychological drama, Girl on the Train.
“Welcome! We have waited a long time for iPic to arrive in Lower Manhattan. I’m thrilled to have attended the press opening. You can be sure that find me at iPic enjoying their first-class seating, Adam’s delicious and creative cocktails along with Chef Sherry’s 5 star bites,” said Grace A. Capobianco, CEO and Publisher of Downtown after the event.
The Seaport District’s new iPic theater held its grand-opening on Friday Oct. 7, and is now open every day for guests to enjoy the luxury dine-in movie experience, that iPic Theaters have become known and loved for. Read more about the theater, showing schedule and its memberships on their website.
