The mall also lost Morrisons cafeteria which drew a lot of adult shoppers who actually spend money !

Perhaps somebody would keep one of the old theaters open as a cut rate movie house ($1 or $2 movies).

Since the majority of theater patrons can't or won't cop for the $8 to $15 tab (each) for popcorn and a coke, maybe a cheaper fare would prompt a big increase in the percentage of people enticed to purchase refreshments at the theater! I know I had rather use the $16 to $30 dollars at a restaurant than to blow it on a snack thet's actually only worth five or six bucks!

I remember when the Mall opened many years ago and it was nice. I don't know what happened to it. I try to always keep my business in Decatur so I hope the theater is a plus and it will bring maybe a coffee shop and a restaurant or two along with new shops for people who want that.

I hope that some of the new retail developments in Decatur will be worth staying in Decatur and shopping at, watching movies at, etc. However, if these new venues are not well maintained many people will continue to go somewhere else to shop and be entertained. The new Belk is a huge improvement but the quality is not anywhere near Parisians and there is still way too much merchandise on the floor making it a less pleasurable shoppng experience. Decatur needs to figure out why people even drive to Cullman to shop at Walmart. I have done this myself. The Cullman store seems much nicer, cleaner, and better stocked. I have gone to the Monaco several times to watch movies and hope the new Decatur theater is equally as nice. However, if it turns into a "sticky floor theater" people will continue to drive elsewhere. As far as the mall goes, I was in there recently. It looks really good but there are really aren't that many stores. If you are looking for professional work clothes you are extremely limited. If you need work out wear you have a few more options. I went into the candy store and their stock was extremely limited and what there was appeared to be old (very hard Jelly Belly's). I try to remember that Decatur is not Huntsville, we don't have that population or wage base but I do hope things continue to change for the better. But, how many mattress stores and title/payday loans does Decatur need? I am sure this will rub some the wrong way but I think Decatur is largely a blue collar city and this is reflected in the selection of retail type shops in Decatur. I think is may be very difficult to stop the flow of tax dollars out of Decatur when it comes to the social aspects of life.

My dad worked for the company that owned Beltline Cinema. It was indeed a first-class theatre in its day - it even had private viewing rooms (which were never used and got used for storage). The theatre was in what is now the Penney Outlet wing, on the left just before you get to the outlet store. There was no Penney's there at the time - the door opened directed to the parking lot.

After a year or so, the mall installed gates at the mall end of the hallway to keep out patrons getting out of a late show. Did you park on the Beltline side of the mall? Too bad! You had to walk around the mall to get your car. When the theatre's lease was up, it was not renewed. Mall owners believed theatre patrons or employees were responsible for thefts and vandalism.

It's amusing to see how the mall is catering to Carmike Corp.

This will be a very nice theatre...for a year or so. The company has never been enthusiastic about maintaining their properties. Sadly, they've also bought the Rave in Huntsville.

The Carmike theater should have been a discount theater years ago. It is filthy, unkept and in disrepair and still charging full price. For that reason, I will never go to the new theater and give them my business. I contacted Carmike years ago on several occasions about their theater and was told they had installed new seating. How about a heating unit Carmike? The mall doesn't need to bank on Carmike drawing paying clientele. It will probably just be a bunch of disruptive kids in the theater and then roaming the mall. Not me and my family!!!

First of all, any Walmart is better than the Decatur Walmart. And if the mall wants shoppers, it would make sense to have some stores!

Walmart in Athens and Hartselle is SO much nicer than Decatur. The Decatur Walmart is dirty, staff seems less than happy in their jobs, the shelves are empty of product much of the time, etc.

We drive to the Monaco because it is actually enjoyable and relaxing to go to a movie where there are 4 theaters that are for over 21 years old only....thereby not having the problem of rowdy teenagers and crying babies or misbehaving toddlers in a movie theater - many of the times when it is an R rates movie to begin with. We also tend to eat dinner at the Monaco or somewhere in Bridgestreet and tend to shop while we wait for a table for dinner. It is easy to get tickets online ahead of time and NOT have to wait like a herd of cattle to get tickets when we get there. I hope that the new Carmike will do that as well.

Hoping that the new movie theater will encourage people to stay in Decatur....but it will ONLY do so if there are decent restaurants in the same area as the theater and decent shopping as well.

The last time I went to Carmike on 14th St. was years and years ago and that trip ended with my going back to the counter and getting my money back and leaving before the movie even started. We went for a Sunday matinee that started at 1:30. We got there about 1:15 and paid and went to get our seat. It was in the winter time and it was so cold inside the theater you could see your breath! I went and asked one of the kids (and they were ALL kids) why the heat wasn't on. He said they don't turn it on until they open up the theater, which was just before we got there. It takes a heck of a long time to heat a space as big as one of their auditoriums! It wasn't going to be even close to warm by the time the movie would have been over. That was the last straw. I got my money back and never went back. I doubt very much I'll go to the "new" Carmike either.

If only they would do online ticket purchase with assigned seats like the Monaco......