At 55 Regal cinemas in California, patrons can wash down their popcorn with an alcoholic beverage while reclining in front of the big screen. On Sept. 16, Santa Maria planning commissioners decided that their city wouldn’t become the 56th.
“Initially, I too was looking at this as something that might benefit our community,” Commissioner Tim Seifert said at the meeting. “But thinking it over, I wouldn’t mind creating a place that people can go and congregate without the alcohol.”
The permit would’ve allowed moviegoers to buy beer and wine for consumption on-site at the Regal Edwards RPX Santa Maria, located in Town Center East. A mini fridge at the existing concession stand would’ve displayed 6-ounce pours of wine and 24-ounce cans of beer. Each customer with a valid ID could be served one beverage at a time in a plastic cup, and theater staff would receive training to recognize signs of intoxication.
Planning Commissioner Yasameen Mohajer wondered if customers would be consuming alcohol in spaces outside of the auditoriums.
“So, I assume that doesn’t include the birthday party rooms that they have and then the arcade?” Mohajer said.
Consumption would only be allowed in auditoriums, Steve Rawlings answered on behalf of Regal Entertainment Group. Standards are the same at other Regal theaters that sell alcohol, including a regulation that requires a staff member make rounds to the auditoriums every half an hour.
“That monitoring is not just somebody, you know, poking their head in and looking,” Rawlings explained. “No, it is actually walk down to the front of the screen, take a look at what’s going on. Walk up to the very top. Again, look down at the patrons there, walk to the other side, and do the same thing.”
Less than 10 percent of adults who attend the theater will buy an alcoholic drink, Rawlings added, and even fewer will buy a second.
“After the movie has started, there’s only one reason any of us ever leave, and that’s because we have to use the restroom,” Rawlings said. “We don’t get people running back up for more popcorn or more sodas, nor do we get them coming out for more alcoholic beverages.”
Alcohol licenses are regulated by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Such a permit would usually be reviewed at the local level by the zoning commissioner, but with several concerns from the public, the Planning Commission discussed the item, Senior City Planner Cody Graybehl said.
Middle and high schoolers representing Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley’s youth coalition spoke against alcohol sales. One ninth grader at Ernest Righetti High School said the coalition recently found increasing DUI arrests in the city and discussed why alcohol sales at the movies may be a bad idea.
“We also talked about the fact that a movie theater is a dark environment and there can be concern about adults giving alcohol to minors,” the high schooler said. “Instead of making alcohol more accessible by allowing more places to sell it, we think that the city should focus on making alcohol less accessible to people under 21. … As a youth in our community, I see the movie theater as a safe place for me and my friends to go watch movies, and I wouldn’t want a drunk person, like, ruining it for us.”
An eighth grader from Lakeview Junior High said one of her main concerns was that she doesn’t want to be around people consuming alcohol while she’s hanging out with friends.
“Movie theaters are family-friendly places where kids, teenagers, and families should be able to spend time together without having people who are drinking,” the student said.
Edwin Weaver, executive director of Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, said he supports the Regal cinema but not in the sale of alcohol. Nearby restaurants, like Red Robin, sell beverages that viewers can consume before watching a film, he suggested.
“What value does it add to the community?” Weaver said. “Do you really have to be sipping wine or beer to enjoy that movie? If so, maybe you have a problem.”
The resolution to deny Regal Edwards’ permit passed 3-1 followed by a round of applause. Commissioner Tom Lopez dissented, and chair Esau Blanco was absent from the meeting.
This article appears in September 24 – October 1, 2026.
