A popular downtown Kelowna spot is going Hollywood. It乌鸦传媒檚 getting a face-lift and it乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒榗oming soon乌鸦传媒�.
The Nixon family bought Doc Willoughby乌鸦传媒檚 last year and decided to develop the upstairs to expand the facility and open up Doc乌鸦传媒檚 sequel, Bernie乌鸦传媒檚 Supper Club and Cinema.
乌鸦传媒淚t definitely wasn乌鸦传媒檛 the original plan,乌鸦传媒� said Kyle Nixon. 乌鸦传媒淲ith COVID, we had to make a decision in November and we had to have more of a food focus because with COVID, it was hard to rely on just being a bar and a late night spot 乌鸦传媒榗ause that was kind of what COVID and a lot of the mandates were against. We felt our best opportunity was to do a bit of an overhaul.乌鸦传媒�
Growing up in Kelowna, both Kyle and his wife have had the vision of bringing a movie theatre back to downtown.
乌鸦传媒淭he concept has lived with my wife and I for a while,乌鸦传媒� said Nixon. 乌鸦传媒淲e both grew up here in Kelowna and we remember a time when there was two movie theatres downtown. There was both the Paramount theatre downtown, of course, and there was also a theatre just off Water Street called Uptown Theatre乌鸦传媒hat one was the one that was probably the most memorable for me. My wife and I remember going there for birthday parties or with our parents.乌鸦传媒�
Renovations are currently going on in the upstairs area that will be the theatre part of the venue while the bar area will still be on ground level. The theatre area upstairs is going to be unique as it features a variety of seating including recliners and booths.
乌鸦传媒淥ur goal is that we乌鸦传媒檙e going to do something new and different乌鸦传媒� let乌鸦传媒檚 do something that kind of doesn乌鸦传媒檛 already exist,乌鸦传媒� said Nixon. 乌鸦传媒淎 boutique movie theatre that can also be used for live shows or private rentals or private screenings, there乌鸦传媒檚 a lot of things we can do with the space.乌鸦传媒�
On top of expanding the space, they乌鸦传媒檝e expanded the liquor license as well to 333 seats. Approximately half the seats are downstairs in the bar area and the other half are upstairs in the theatre area.
乌鸦传媒淲hat can we do that乌鸦传媒檚 going to create an experience? We乌鸦传媒檙e trying to go for something different, that乌鸦传媒檚 what we乌鸦传媒檙e striving for,乌鸦传媒� said Nixon. 乌鸦传媒淭he cool thing about a movie theatre is that everybody乌鸦传媒檚 welcome, everyone enjoys the experience. I do believe that the movie theatre experience has evolved.乌鸦传媒�
Nixon is a seasoned restauranteur, as he is also the owner of BNA Brewing, Skinny Duke乌鸦传媒檚, and Public Liquor.
He said he, his wife, and their team came up with the name Bernie乌鸦传媒檚 as it乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒渙ur love song to Bernard Street.乌鸦传媒�
Renovations are scheduled to be completed soon as Bernie乌鸦传媒檚, located at 353 Bernard, is expected to open sometime in June, though an exact date hasn乌鸦传媒檛 been announced yet.
Soon enough, you can spend a week night or a 乌鸦传媒榃eekend at Bernie乌鸦传媒檚乌鸦传媒�.
READ MORE: Kelowna pub Doc乌鸦传媒檚 set to expand and change name
READ MORE: 乌鸦传媒淏est lineup to date乌鸦传媒�: Rock the Lake tickets now on sale
jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
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