Written by Nicole
In the past people have referred to The Moxie as a "Mom and Pop" operation. But that's not quite true, since we don't have kids. But come early December, you can officially call us a "Mom and Pop" business!
It's going to be an exciting (and probably terrifying!) transition, but we couldn't wait to share with you!
Written by Nicole
If you haven't heard of this exciting campaign, then let us be the one to inform you!
The Downtown Springfield Association, in conjunction with 16 downtown restaurants and two downtown movie theaters (Hollywood & Moxie), are working together to provide an affordable evening out on the town!
If you order an entree at any of the participating business (see below), you can purchase a movie ticket for only $5! That's a $3 savings from evening Moxie shows.
We're really excited to be part of this campaign, and since its launch last weekend, we've seen a ton of passes come back, and a lot of new faces.
So this weekend, before you catch EASY VIRTUE, SUGAR, or VALENTINO, treat yourself to dinner beforehand, and get your tickets on the cheap. But make sure you save room for concessions!
Participating restaurants:
• Big Whiskey’s
• Fedora
• Flame
• French Quarter Café
• Kai
• Lili’s (located in Wilhoit Plaza, close to The Moxie)
• Maria’s
• Mille’s
• Nonna’s
• Rendezvous Coffee House
• Riad’s
• South Avenue Pizza
• Springfield Brewing Company
• St. Michael’s
• Trolley’s
• Ziggie’s
The pilot project is for a limited time and will be offered through August 31, 2009.
For more information, you can also visit The DSA's website, It's All Downtown.
Written by Dan
One of the biggest changes we made when we moved from our old space was the discontinuation of our monthly calendars. I've talked about the reasons behind this decision many, many, many, many times, so I won't waste any more pixels explaining it again today. The only reason I bring it up is to illuminate the fact that while the mechanics of our scheduling changed, our online calendar didn't, which confused a lot of our customers.
Here's a little taste of the types of questions we heard in regards to our befuddling online calendar:
Well, I'm happy to announce that our online calendar now reflects our week-by-week scheduling. Check it out right here. Hopefully it makes sense to you right out of the box, but in case you're a little lost, let me give you some pointers.
NOTE: If the calendar doesn't look right, you need to do a hard refresh of the page, which will cause your browser to read the new design correctly. Most browsers will allow you to do this by holding down shift when you hit the refresh button.
1. The calendar shows all the showtimes for the current "Moxie Week." Our week starts on Friday, since that's when our movies begin. Whenever you visit the calendar page, you will see all the showtimes for that particular week.
2. I've used colors to help differentiate between days of the week. Days that have already passed are grayed out, and the current day is accentuated with a pleasing yellow background. If you're not a fan of scrolling, I've included a handy link at the top of the calendar that will take you straight to the current showtimes for today.
3. Every Tuesday we'll add a link to the top of the calendar page that says "See next week's showtimes," and it will remain their until the current "Moxie Week" is finished. If you click it, you will see next week's showtimes. Amazing.
4. Below the weekly calendar, you'll notice a much-requested feature: The Coming Soon list! If we know when the film is starting, it will show the opening date directly below the poster. If we don't have a specific date set, it will simply say "COMING SOON." You can click on any of the posters for more information about that particular title.
That's it! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to drop us a line.
Written by Nicole
Travel budget got you down? Never fear, Moxie is here! You can always get the best in international film all summer long at The Moxie. Here's a bit of what's to come in the "movies with subtitles" genre:
+ PARIS 36 is a French musical set in 1936 Paris. The film centers around a local theater, and the people who try to save it from closure. Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun Times calls the film "amusing and enjoyable." (June 5)
+ SUGAR, a film about Dominican baseball player struggling to make it in the major league (June 12)
+ RUDO Y CURSI, a Mexican comedy starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Deigo Luna as brothers who start playing professional soccer (June 12)
+ SIN NOMBRE, a suspensful thriller following a Latin American family en route to the United States. (June 19)
+ HUNGER, an Irish drama about the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike (June 12)
+ LITTLE ASHES, a Britsh film following the earlier days of Salvodor Dali (and starring Twilight's Robert Pattinson) (July)
+ BURMA VJ, an intense documentary about guerilla journalists in Burma and the repurcussions their efforts have on their country. (August)
There will most likely be many more international films added. These are just ones we have confirmed so far! Check our website weekly for start dates, because they are subject to change!
Written by Nicole
An exciting new campaign is hitting the Twitter feed, and I like it. It's called The 3/50 Project, and it's encouraging community members to spend $50 a month at local, independently owned, brick and mortar organizations. They prompt you by saying, "What three independently owned businesses would you miss if they disappeared?"
I know for sure that on a daily basis I miss our neighbor Carla at Pastiche. My credit card is probably thanking me, but with her unique boutique gone, I seriously felt like a bit of Springfield's pizazz left as well. And since her closure, my personal mission has been to shop, dine, and entertain as locally as possible. This has extended into a business mission as well. Our pest control, baked goods and treats, coffee, projection technician, cleaning services, and advertisers are all locally owned and operated. "Be vocal, shop local" is what Carla had in her window during Pastiche's final days. I loved it! And I love this new campaign, too, so I couldn't wait to share.
What three businesses would you miss? According to The 3/50 Project, "if half the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate $42.6 billion in revenue," and that "for every $100 spent locally, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures." This compares to the $43 retention from national chains, and ZERO from online spending.
This blog post isn't going to be a pity party for The Moxie, asking you all to think what would happen if your favorite art-house theater were to disappear (ahem...but since I said it...). I'm just wanting to constantly remind our wonderful patrons and blog readers how important it is to shop locally! To really drive home where the money goes locally, I'll use our staff members as examples. When business gets slow, like in the Spring, we have to cut payroll significantly, so our staff members only get about half of what they receive per pay period than what they do during good business. That's a big cut for their rent checks, dining, wining, etc! And trust me, all of us at The Moxie LOVE to eat and drink. So when we have to cut back on their paychecks, they have to cut back on their spending. No fun.
Now, we once posted a post a long time ago about the importance of local shopping, and someone anonymously commented that it was interesting seeing us at a local big box store. Well, of course I'm going to get Fruity Pebbles at a chain grocery store! And I'll probably pick up socks and magazines there too...but when it comes to the items that *really* matter, I'll check my local retailers first.
So, after much deliberation, I think these are the three places that I absolutely, could not live without in Springfield:
+ Well Fed Head - their departure from downtown was bad enough, but I do love their new space, and look forward to my monthly book club evening with Beth and the gang
+ The Center City Coffee Shops - Obviously I can't pick just one. I probably spend $50 per month EACH at The Mudhouse, Coffee Ethicx, and Big Mommas! And I just discovered Turkish Coffee at The Rendezvous, so we'll be adding them to the list of stops. I think my local coffee shops are the epitome of a "neighborhood." I know the owners and baristas by name, they know my drink when I walk in, and it's such a fun way to spend 15 minutes of the day, walking down to my favorite coffee shops, saying hello, and putting a few quarters in the "thanks a latte" jar!
+ Pam Nickel at Springfield Massage Therapy - oh my goodness, if you need the most relaxing hour of your life, please do yourself a favor and visit Pam. My last session with her ended up with me snoring! I think that's probably a compliment to any massage therapist.
Just because I mentioned those three doesn't mean I wouldn't die a little if any of my other local favorites were to disappear (I'll be happy to tell you in real life, too, if you're curious!). The list would probably take days to compile, and would include pretty much every restaurant and shop in town! As a favor to us, though, next time you see a movie, make note of our local advertisers, and do your best to put them in your businesses and organizations to support!
Springfield has SO MUCH to offer, that I hope we can all keep each other afloat, especially during this rough economic downturn (ugh, aren't you getting sick of that phrase?). Thanks for reading!
This blog is intended to chronicle the process of developing, financing, starting, and maintaining a small, independently-owned, art-house theater. Although it's been known to meander from time to time, it always seems to find its way back. This blog doesn't cotton to nobody, no how.
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