Ever since Suns Cinema opened nearly three years ago, people have been confused about when they can drink at the bar that’s inside the arthouse movie theater.
An “on air” sign outside the Mount Pleasant theater means a movie is in progress, while open curtains mean the bar is open.
But starting May 11, there will be a bit more separation between the theater and its bar.
That’s when David Cabrera and Ryan Hunter Mitchell will officially move movie screenings to the second floor in a newly renovated space. May 11 is also the theater’s third anniversary, and the duo is christening the new second floor space with a futuristic-themed bash in celebration.
They’ve also converted the first floor—the original theater space—into a bar for roughly 30 patrons. It will be open Tuesday-Sunday evenings.
“The idea is just that we get to always be a bar,” Cabrera says. “People can come in at any time and hang out at the bar if they’d like.”
The bar’s modest menu includes a handful of beers, wine by the glass, a $10 specialty cocktail, and a bottle of “bubbles” for $15. The small snack selection includes popcorn, cookies, and vegan pork rinds. You can also buy a TV dinner to nosh on.
Cabrera and Mitchell are keeping a screen downstairs for casual nights when they’re projecting television shows or when they want to put something on as background scenery, the duo says. The downstairs space will also continue to host Monday night screenings.
The 28-seat movie-viewing area upstairs is a nod to Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, with its colorful and retro movie theater seats, square lights, and the words “Suns Cinema” written in the movie’s famous white font. The red and orange rug is taken right out of another Kubrick film, The Shining, and matches the one by the front door.
Upstairs also features a new “cyberpunk” service bar that’s all decked out in the style of Blade Runner, complete with neon advertisements, a light-up mural of the futuristic Los Angeles pyramid skyscape, and a wall stenciled with the same design from Rick Deckard’s kitchen. The quirky service bar gives the partners the option of holding events upstairs as well, and it’s open before, during, and after screenings.
Even the bathroom wasn’t overlooked.
It’s got more than two dozen photographs of famous bathroom scenes hanging up on walls filled with wallpaper from the 1960s. The scenes include Marion Crane in the shower before Norman Bates kills her in Psycho, and Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction sitting on the toilet reading a magazine.
“You get to see history being made from your position [on the toilet],” Mitchell quips.
Suns Cinema shows movies almost daily and switches up the theme every month. Its theme for May is “And Then There Were Three.” The roster includes all three parts of Back to the Future, and 3:10 to Yuma.
The duo made sure to put lower seats in the front and higher seats in the back of the new space, so it’s more tiered than the one downstairs. The bigger movie screen also makes it easier to read subtitles.
“We wanted the upstairs to feel more like a movie theater, which is somewhat ironic because this was actually someone’s living room before,” Cabrera says.
The partners estimate the entire renovation cost $60,000, and included gutting the space, adding floors, and buying the furniture and decorations.
Neighbors will also be delighted to know the renovation included additional soundproofing.
Suns Cinema is located at 3107 Mount Pleasant St. NW. The downstairs bar is open Tuesday-Sunday 5 p.m.-close.
