Harkins Cine Grill Lake Pleasant

ridethectrain on November 14, 2025 at 2:31 pm

From the Peoria Times

Harkins Theatres opens Ciné Grill in Peoria By Joe McHugh, Peoria Times Staff Writer Aug 11, 2023 Updated Aug 16, 2023

Harkins Theatres are among some of the most recognizable in Arizona, and they are upping the ante with a new theater concept — the Harkins Ciné Grill in Lake Pleasant Towne Center.

“It’s got all of the wonderful presentation that you see at a traditional Harkins theater with a standalone, full-service scratch kitchen,” said Jessica Reeves, vice president of marketing for Harkins Theatres.

“There is an indoor-outdoor cocktail bar; a lounge; a patio with private event space; and, of course, our state-of-the-art technology with cutting-edge laser projection (and) immersive surround-cinema audio in all of our auditoriums.”

The dine-in concept features numerous options for moviegoers to enjoy while watching a film of their choosing.

Showing stark differences between a normal Harkins theater, the goal of Ciné Grill is to elevate the viewing experience of its guests and give an all-inclusive experience.

Each theater is outfitted with cushioned, reclining chairs that have swiveling side tables for guests to place their food and drinks. Customers are also given restaurant-style service in the movie theater with designated servers roaming and bringing a given order to the seat.

The servers are also on call, with a service button guests can press at any time for additional assistance.

Some feature items on the menu are burgers, chicken tenders, carne asada nachos, roasted brussels sprouts and, of course, Harkins’ popcorn.

“We took a long time to create a menu that really was wonderful, yummy and delicious — easy to eat while you’re watching a movie and doesn’t disrupt the moviegoing experience,” Reeves said.

“It was definitely a collaborative effort from every single department at Harkins. It relied on the experience of our theater teams to make sure that we were really focusing on the guests. That’s critical to Harkins — that the guests’ experience is wonderful. We wanted to make sure that we provided that with Ciné Grill as well.”

One fold Harkins weaved into Ciné Grill is the online ticketing service that can also serve as an ordering mechanic for food.

Upon purchase of their ticket, guests can add their food order into the purchase, determining the exact time when they would like the food — creating a full-service experience from start to finish.

Reeves added that the facility also boasts an environment for anyone looking for a meal and drinks and welcomes anyone in for a good experience.

“If people want to just come for the yummy food or one of our movie-themed, custom cocktails, they’re always welcome to do that in the lobby, out on the patio or at the bar just to come give us a visit there,” Reeves said.

Ciné Grill’s flagship location in Peoria was in high demand, as according to Reeves, the Northwest Valley has been clamoring for more movie theaters in the area.

“We have other theaters in Peoria in Park West and really love the market,” she said. “We have team members that live out there, we have been getting requests to bring the theater to North Peoria, and really felt like our dining concept would do really well there. … We have been getting requests to come to North Peoria for a really long time.

“We’ve been so welcomed by the community and local businesses that it just felt like a really natural fit for us to introduce Ciné Grill there.”

From scratch food to the latest movies, Harkins is excited to unveil more Ciné Grill locations across the Valley, and the Lake Pleasant Towne Center serves as the first step to that.

“We think the community is going to love Ciné Grill,” Reeves said. “We think they’re going to love the wonderful presentation in the auditoriums and the delicious food. The team worked very hard on this, and it was definitely a collaborative effort.

“It’s something that we’re all really proud of.”

Harkins Ciné Grill

25406 N. Lake Pleasant Parkway, Peoria

harkins.com/cinegrill