ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – A long-shuttered shopping center in the middle of Albuquerque comes to life with a movie theater and restaurants soon to move in. From the closure of iT’Z Family Food and Fun and the old buffet years ago to the $ 8 Movies cinema shutdown last year, the land off San Mateo, north of Montgomery, has remained. vacant. Now the developers are hoping it becomes the next Friday night hot spot.

“It was not unexpected. It was a dollar theater that was showing movies that were already a few months old and that we all had access to on Netflix and Hulu, ”said Scott Goodman, vice president of Goodman Realty Group. “We weren’t shocked, but we were disappointed.

Left with load-bearing walls and sloping floors, it was difficult for the developers to find someone to move in without expensive construction. However, now the building is coming back to life, with renovations planned by Icon Cinema, which already has a location in the Four Hills Mall next to Central and Tramway.

“That suited them perfectly, because from their perspective, when you look at an expansion, how many vacant movie theaters are available in the city?” Said Goodman. “It was an incredible opportunity for them and an incredible opportunity for us as it allows a lot of what this theater to be reused.”

The revived movie theater isn’t the only company getting a facelift on the big field. Earlier this year, Dion announced plans to move his commissary to the former 53,000 square foot iT’Z building which closed in 2016.

“For a few years we looked at renting it out to different types of tenants, but where we saw the most activity was in the trampoline parks or the gyms. Both of those things worried us a bit, as we’ve seen many trampoline parks and gyms open in Albuquerque over the past few years. We were discussing internally, how many more could there be and is this a concept that will survive in the long run, ”said Goodman, who says it was a relief when they were approached by Dion. “For what we thought was a problem with the kitchen and the pizza oven ended up being a selling point for them. “

The restaurant also decided to purchase the lots to the east and west of the building with the intention of opening a maintenance building and a new restaurant off San Mateo, as well as an office building of two floors, creating the Dion corporate campus. Goodman Realty Group said it is also working to transform the old buffet behind Hooters, which has been closed for 15 years, into a “ghost kitchen.” This would create multiple indoor mini-kitchens for businesses opening up online, via delivery.

“The idea would be to take that and turn it into several miniature kitchens that will be individually rented to restaurant users. You see a lot of restaurant businesses going online and not needing a presence, ”Goodman said. “When you go to DoorDash or Grubhub you can see a Shake Shack, an In’N’Out, a Joe’s Crab Shack and order their menu like they’re here without them necessarily needing to be here and that allows them to enter the market slowly.

Goodman says Hooters is also enjoying enough success to expand. Hopefully, the developers are hoping this will become the next “it” spot in Albuquerque.

“You’re going to end up going from an empty parking lot like it is now to a completely crowded parking lot and somewhere to hang out on a Friday night,” Goodman said. “We hope this is a place you can go to without having to go downtown or Uptown, but you could go to ‘Midtown’.”

The new Icon Cinema location is slated to open later this year, just in time for holiday movie season. Goodman says he hopes Dion and Icon can work together to even bring pizza to moviegoers.

The commissary should open its doors next year. Plans to open San Mateo’s new restaurant are expected in 2023 with business offices slated for the following year.