Uptown Charlotte gets what it needed

I'd argue that no great city in the world -- certainly none I've visited -- is without a movie theater downtown. (Or, to use Charlotte's snooty term, uptown.) But until last week, we didn't have one.

EpiCentre Theaters provided one from 2008 to 2012, though the programming was unadventurous, the food (in the adjacent Mez) was too expensive for me to buy, and the movie end of the venue seemed like a graveyard on the two occasions I went there. (When you get only eight people in the theater for "Kung Fu Panda 2," then the nation's top-grossing film, you're in trouble.)

Now the space has a new tenant, Studio Movie Grill. My colleague Theoden Janes will talk about his experiences visiting SMG -- which were pretty close to mine -- in Friday's CLT section. The important thing (and one on which we agree) is that SMG seems to be taking movies seriously, rather than making them an adjunct function of food service or night-club atmosphere.

I talked to the Texas-based programmer for SMG at the grand opening last week. She spoke about special events other locations have provided, from curated film series (including classics chosen by local critics) to morning screenings of family-friendly films for children with special needs and their caretakers. (Learn more at studiomoviegrill.com.)

But the most important thing about SMG is simply that it exists. Before last week, uptown residents who wanted to see a movie had to drive for 20 minutes to Phillips Place or Northlake to see mainstream releases. Now they can walk to the Epicentre at Fourth and College streets. (Those of us who drive to SMG get free validated parking.) That could save energy, which is always a boon.

But it also means that one more crucial amenity has made downtown more vibrant. I'm thrilled that we have performance centers, art museums and restaurants of all price ranges within a 15-minute walk of my office at Stonewall and Tryon. I can't wait to walk to a Knights baseball game next year. But until we got a movie theater back, our sparkling downtown could never seem complete.