Their ads are impressive and well done in the paper I saw, and they seem to have plenty of decent sized plexes.

I seem to recall hearing somewhere that they were affiliated with another larger chain...

Although I could be REALLY wrong about that.
 

Steven Winner
 

They're in Florida and the Carolinas -- mostly mainstream with 2 upmarket theaters and 1 arthouse.

The first impression that a 56k user gets of many semi-professionally designed websites is a blank image map that immediately cries out "I'm so impressed with my ability to make pretty pictures with Front Page that wasting your time doesn't matter. When the page loads (sometime within the next hour) you'll be impressed."

If an index page doesn't load within 10 seconds on a dialup connection or give me an "opt out" of the intro, I am NOT impressed by the skills of the designer. Please, if you must make fancy web pages, give me the choice of waiting to see pretty pictures or seeing a simple page that loads quickly and gets the job done.

I can't believe that EF's customers all have DSL or cablemodems.
 

They build one or two complexes a year, and they build pretty nice cinemas. The latest one just opened in Florence, SC. They did a one week charity run of last years films before the official opening, and donated the substantial proceeds to some local charities.

Definitely a classy outfit!

------------------
Oscar Neundorfer
Chief Engineer
SMART Devices, Inc.

oscar@smartdev.com
 

The heart of the matter is right there in a nutshell -- they are a family owned company. There is someone at the head who WANTS to be in the movie business and is right there overseeing operations. It is not a company owned by a subsidiary of a parent owned by a conglomerate which is in a business that has nothing to do with motion picture exhibition. I love the time Warner Brothers was owned by a parent that ran funeral homes and parking lots -- A Kenny Company, wasn't it? You could park, see a movie and buy your coffin all in an afternoon!

Frank

Eastern Federal Theatres, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the premier regional motion picture exhibitors in the United States. Beginning with the acquisition of its first properties in the early 1930's, EFC has been continuously involved in the development, ownership and operation of motion picture theatres. Since the mid-1970s, the Company has pursued a strategy of owning its theatre properties and utilizing its in-house real estate, engineering and construction expertise to select and develop custom built theatre facilities.
The Company is privately owned by members of the Meiselman family. Current Chief Executive Officer Carter D. Meiselman represents the third generation of the Meiselman family in senior management after his father, Ira S. Meiselman, and his grandfather, Herman B. Meiselman. George A. Royster, Jr. is the Executive Vice President of the company.

The Company currently owns 21 theatres operating or under construction throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Of its total of 202 screens, 163 or 81% are stadium seated and all theatres feature digital stereo sound systems. The Company's goal is to provide a state of the art entertainment experience for its patrons that will keep alive the "Magic of the Movies."

I like their motto. It makes you feel like your about to go in for something special when you go to see a movie, something that is sorely missed today.

Josh

Eastern Federal offers DTS, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital EX at certain locations. Not all screens offer digital sound. I have found the sound at each location to be average. Nothing impressive, but not terrible either.

Eastern Federal's oldest location, "The Manor" is in Charlotte and currently runs independent films on it's two screens. This theater was recently renovated with new seating, curtains, and lobby. No stadium seating or digital surround sound is available here. This location is also home to the Charlotte film Society. It's still a nice theater and even better after the renovations.

Each location which I have visited except for the Northpoint cinema in Winston Salem, has always been extremely clean each and every visit. Even the Northpoint location isn't that bad. It's concessions offer much the same which you can find at any other chain.

In most of their locations, my opinion is that there is a serious lack of detail in each cinema. Most are as basic as they come for today's standards. However, things are beginning to change with their latest projects. The newest Eastern Federal Cinema in the Charlotte area which is called the Birkdale 16 is from what I have heard extremely nice. No word on the screen size and mixed seating yet, but it flaunts a impressive looking lobby. From what I hear the lobby is set up like a court yard with benches and street lamps. The ceiling is black with fiber optic lighting to look like stars in the sky. I will eventually check it out for myself.

All I can say is that they do a nice job, the theaters are clean and the people working there are friendly. In Charlotte though, AMC, Consolidated, and Regal are hands down one step ahead from a personal prospective in seating, sound, screen and overall theater appearance inside and outside. This comes from someone who lives 2 miles from a new 12 screen Eastern Federal Theater but drives past it to get to other locations 9 times out of 10. Sorry, but it's true.
 

The Eastern Federal Theater here is nice with Stadium Seating and Digital Sound in almost every theater (12-plex). The only downside is that the screens are small.

Hope this helps!