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‘Sex’ is a dinner and a movie phenom
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s more to “Sex and the City” than $101 million at the box office so far. Fans have also turned a night out with Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte into a dinner-, or sometimes, appetizer-and-a-movie phenomenon.
Since the film’s May 30 debut, Twist at Phipps Plaza reports business is up 35 percent from last year, driven mostly by groups of women who come to the restaurant before or after seeing the movie at the mall’s AMC theater.
It’s been busy at Strip, too, where the restaurant is located just across the street from the Regal theater in Atlantic Station.
“We’ve easily had 5,000 women coming through here on their way to see that movie,” general manager Tim Holland says. “And the ladies are dressed to the nines.”
Business has been so good that some restaurants — like Marlow’s Tavern, with locations in Midtown, Vinings, Kennesaw and Alpharetta, and Aqua Blue in Roswell — are creating special nights for women in an attempt to continue the momentum.
Tonight and each Wednesday through June, Marlow’s Tavern locations will offer $5 cocktails featuring “Sex and the City’s” classic Cosmopolitan, a Metropolitan and the HBO show-inspired Absolut Hunk, $5 appetizers and $5 wine flight.
On June 20, Aqua Blue is forming a “Sex and the City”-inspired girls night out that will benefit the Susan G. Komen cancer foundation. Drinks will be named after the film’s main characters. Appetizers will pay homage to the “Sex” men — as in Mr. Big mussels.
Midtown’s Ecco is also considering adding a ladies night.
“There’s definitely a market for it,” says Ecco’s general manager Andy Fox. “We want to tap into that crowd. It’s huge.”
Since the movie opened, it’s often been a steady stream of pink tutus, high heels and, well, weekends of women across metro Atlanta.
On Sunday, a dozen women walked into Aqua Blue and sat at the restaurant’s community table.
“They came in for Cosmos and appetizers and things like that,” says Aqua Blue general manager Brian Longacre. “For us, the ‘Sex and the City’ crowds built the second weekend more than the first. I think by the time all the ladies got around to having the free time to do this and get all the gals together it took like a week.”
At Twist, the impact was immediate.
“That first Friday we did a special martini list named after the characters,” says general manager Jason Sheetz. “That particular night we sold 500 of those martinis alone.”
He says women came throughout the day. “They were in tutus and really sexy dresses. Lots of pink. And it was all ages. All demographics.”
The main drink orders everywhere seem to be for Cosmos.
“This past week, we’ve sold three times as many Cosmos as the same week in previous months,” says Mike Stachura, director of beverage operations for Marlow’s Tavern.
And some say the party’s not over.
“Through June, I don’t see this going away,” says Strip’s Holland. “Since we’ve been here I’ve seen all kinds of movies come out — the new ‘Indiana Jones,’ the last “Rocky,’ Bruce Willis’ latest ‘Die Hard’ — none of them beat this. All together they did not touch this.”
Did you and your friends hit the restaurants and bars before or after seeing “Sex and the City”?
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Bob Longino
Comments
By Stacey
June 12, 2008 5:03 PM | Link to this
We hit MF Sushi before the movie. Sex&Sushi we called it!
By nzwbqckix ykuinpsx
November 20, 2008 3:02 AM | Link to this
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By nzwbqckix ykuinpsx
November 20, 2008 3:03 AM | Link to this
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