Screenland Opens in the Crossroads

When you enter the unassuming building at 1701 McGee Suite 200 and take a right, you will enter the perfect setup for lovers of beer, food, movies, and games. If you are unfamiliar with the venue, a friendly host will guide you through and either seat you at one of the couple of dozen tables or let you venture on your own.

I arrived right at 4pm and headed straight for the bar to see what 48 beers they had on tap. The selection was great, ranging from Perennial Abraxas to new, local brewery Torn Label’s Alpha. Their cocktails were imaginative and used spirits from the local Dark Horse Distillery. The food menu was expansive for a theatre, but if you’re not sure what you are in the mood for, you will be limited. While there’s a great variety for apps, the only choice for entrées are burritos, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Most of the burritos have a default of French fries in the burrito, but can be substituted for rice at no additional charge. Also, the meat can be substituted for tofu and vice versa for no additional charge. They use many local products for both the apps and the burritos including Shatto cheese curds and Slap’s BBQ. There may be a theme here – local.

The service was fine to start and got a bit worse as they got busier, but nothing too intolerable. A few employees seemed nervous, which is understandable with it being the first day. Trent the bartender was very friendly, seemed comfortable in what he was doing, and had just the right amount of social awareness. When I sat down at a table, Erick took over my tab and before ordering another beer, I asked about the New Belgium Firkin that was supposed to be tapped at 6pm. Erick had no idea what I was talking about and went to find out more. The keg never made it on the truck so no firkin. No big deal, plenty of other great beers to try. However, when you work somewhere you should know about intended specials, whether they happen or not.

So, I ordered a beer and a KC Burrito. The food came out before my beer and on three separate occasions, Erick told me he’d bring more napkins, but I never got more napkins. I would suggest putting napkin dispensers at the tables especially when most of the food being served is food that you eat without utensils. The next beer I ordered was Horny Goat’s Black Vanilla IPA which ended up not being on tap anymore. Adam, the co-owner, was very helpful in finding me a new beer to enjoy, Stone Reason Be Damned, a Belgian Style Abbey. Erick served me a Perennial Abraxas. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Perennial Abraxas, I had just already had some and wanted a lighter beer at that point. I think the wait staff should notice the difference between a stout and an Abbey. Once I pointed it out, Erick took it away and served me the correct beer, but still no napkins.

Keeping in mind that the Screenland is a theatre, I knew the bill would be a bit pricey. It really wasn’t too bad considering the quality of beer and food. $10.50 was the most spent on one item and that was for a 10.5 oz pour of the Abraxas. And then I noticed Erick charged me for the Horny Goat that I ordered, but didn’t receive because it was out. After telling Erick about the incorrect charge, he was done with me and sent Adam to my table for the rest of the night. Adam was understanding and apologetic. He bought me another drink, took off another drink (neither was necessary, but appreciated), and the original Horny Goat was corrected. I was upset Erick didn’t come back over at any point just for a quick, “Sorry about all that. We’re still working out the kinks.”

Arcade games were free all night and will be free until March 1. I really enjoyed my time at Screenland Crossroads and would highly recommend it. They’ll get the kinks worked out.