For one enterprising immigrant who’s changing the movie-going experience nationwide, it’s always Showtime

by Laura D.C. Kolnoski

The “Ultimate Theater Experience” has come to New Jersey, and we have Hamid Hashemi to thank for it. The Iranian immigrant, who moved to America in 1978 intending to become a doctor, pioneered the newest interpretation of the movie theater experience, offering “ affordable luxury” with upscale spins on the dineand- drink, plush seating phenomenon.

Garden State filmgoers already enjoy dine-in theaters at locations in Menlo Park, Bridgewater, and Elizabeth. Hashemi, whose iPic Theater opened in Fort Lee in August, has improved on the concept.

“There are many differences between our theaters and others, from the quality and type of seats to the quality of culinary and mixology offerings,” he said. “Everything is made from scratch. The design of an iPic Theater is such that no one will ever walk in front of you—whether a fellow guest or one of our ninja servers.” Special training teaches the servers their stealthy technique, and Hashemi’s business history and personal story provide the inspiration.

The accidental entrepreneur had determined to become a heart surgeon at 12, while still in Iran, after witnessing his grand-father’s heart attack. Hashemi had completed three years of medical school when the Iranian revolution of 1979 broke out. He had to choose whether to stay or leave. He left, without his immediate family.

“I came to America as many do, seeing it as the land of opportunity,” he recalled. “ What I was most passionate about was that in the United States, each person has the same opportunity. In most other countries, it’s still a class system.” Hashemi initially tried to return to medical school, but with only $700 to his name, the cost was prohibitive. He decided to focus on business courses.

After attending the University of Iowa for two years, he transferred to Florida Atlantic University, where he graduated with a degree in microbiology, in part by using transferred medical school credits. He delivered furniture on weekends and worked the night shift at a hotel to support himself. Upon graduation he began a new career—renting homes—which earned the 23-year-old quick money. He started his own real estate company, Professional Services Realty, in Fort Lauderdale, eventually employing 25 people. The firm expanded into commercial real estate. After 10 years, he sold the company and the property it was located on.

“Initially, being an entrepreneur was not the goal; it was just survival,” he said. “ When you come to this country as a foreigner, you don’t have all the safety nets that you have when you grow uphere. If you don’t make it, you don’t eat. It’s as simple as that. At first, it was difficult; it wasn’t about adjusting to American life as much as it was about your life turning upside down— being in a new place, a new environment. I was very comfortable in Iran, and all of a sudden, although I was pursuing my American dream, there were challenges and the realization that everything I had worked for had to be reevaluated. I needed to figure out what to do.”

After investigating the purchase of a shopping center with a three-screen movie theater in 1984, he decided to buy, unaware that an eight-screen movie house was opening nearby. In a few years, he was out of business. Undeterred, Hashemi began buying other (often older) theaters and remodeled them based on his own designs. In 1988, he developed the country’s first theater with stadium seating, which became the industry rage. He called his company Muvico.

AMC Theaters picked up on Hashemi’s ideas, and by 1995, the industry’s multiplex craze was in full swing. Hashemi sold Muvico to Regal Cinemas that year. He maintained rights to the name Muvico, morphed that business into Muvico 2, and built megaplex stadium-seating theaters, implementing unique features and amenities.

“My wife and I were thinking about what we would like in the theater experience,” he related. “ We followed our instincts, building places we would go to ourselves. We were no different than our guests were. There was a point where, as a married couple, we had lost our spontaneity. We needed childcare— hence the idea of enhancing the service experience and offering childcare for our guests.”

That idea was followed by an inspiration to combine dining and filmgoing. “ The restaurant evolved into our theaters based on our own personal lifestyle and desires,” Hashemi said. “ This is why we decided to bring a gourmet dining experience inside the theater, so you wouldn’t have to drive from one destination to the other.”

In the wake of a difference of opinion with his partners on Muvico’s future direction, Hashemi was terminated from the company he founded. Far from discouraged, he opened the first iPic Theatre in, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2007, just as the economy began to nosedive. Initially, guests were able to purchase food and bring it into the theater. In-theater ordering and independent restaurants were soon added.

“The theater experienced organic growth of 20 percent per year from 2008 to 2010 at a time when almost all other businesses, including megaplexes, were struggling to maintain sales,” Hashemi said. “ That is when we realized not only was our model recessin-proof, but it was delivering an experience people really liked, despite their ability to stay at home and watch the same movie for free. The concept of iPic Theaters was so counterintuitive at the time; most industry people were taking bets on how long it would be before we closed the doors. Fast-forward five years, and everyone was trying to enhance their experience.”

The ease of home viewing today, including the proliferation of in-home theaters, does not discourage Hashemi. “ The fact that you can watch a movie at home doesn’t stop you from going to a theater, just as having a kitchen in your house doesn’t stop you from going to a restaurant,” he said. “ You go for a shared experience, but it has to be as good or better than what you can get at home. We have seen people who stopped going to traditional movie theaters actually come back, and those who only went for blockbusters now go on a regular basis.”

The company tracks box office revenue and the expansion of the market when an iPic Theater opens in a new geographic area. That’s good news for Fort Lee, as well as New York City’s South Street Seaport, where another opened this fall. Hashemi reports both locations are succeeding, with guests responding positively to the concept.

Hashemi is president and CEO of iPic Entertainment, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. There are currently 15 locations nationwide, including Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, and Washington, with more planned for California, Texas, and Pennsylvania (in all, twenty additional locations are in development). Dobbs Ferry, New York, will be the next site to open. When choosing new sites, Hashemi considers population density and existing entertainment options, among other factors.

The design and aesthetic of an iPic Theater is intended to give guests the feeling of being in a stylish hotel or lounge, with plush materials and luxe details enhanced by original art. The chef-driven menu is helmed by the chief operating officer of iPic Entertainment’s Restaurant Division, Chef Sherry Yard, who was born in Brooklyn and is a three-time James Beard Award winner. Transcending traditional theater grub, “ dining in the dark” options are designed to be eaten quietly without utensils. Guests can also order from a full bar.

The experience begins by downloading the iPic app, or by visiting ipic.com, where guests can select show times, seating, and food and drink. Options include reclining leather seats, pillows, blankets, popcorn, and personal call buttons to summon servers. Beginning this year, new theaters feature two types of seating: patented Premium Plus Seating Pods and Premium Chaise Lounge seating.

Optional membership is 1.6 million and growing. Different levels are available, offering escalating perks, such as discounted pricing, priority notification about blockbusters, access to exclusive showings, free upgrades, and the ability to earn reward points. (Non-members can sign up for email notifications and a newsletter as well.)

Hashemi is also a restaurateur and founder of award-winning hospitality establishments, including Tanzy Restaurants in Florida and Arizona, a luxury bowling and dining concept called Pinstrikes, the City Perch Kitchen + Bar, and The Tuck Room bar and gastro lounge.

In 1999, the Boca Raton Airport Authority awarded Hashemi the development rights to a 15‐acre airport tract. He built a hangar, office space, and a fuel farm during the project’s first phase. Phases 2 and 3 are currently awaiting approval for two restaurants, retail space, and a 40,000- square-foot office building.

Along his journey, the entrepreneur has conquered multiple challenges, including competing in a world dominated by better capitalized conglomerates.

“I realized that all theaters get the same 35mm movies,” he said. “ What differentiates one from the other are service and amenities. Taking a page from the forefathers of this industry in the ’20s and ’30s, I started building thematic/atmospheric theaters and focusing on personal service. I have built examples designed after the Paris Opera House, a turn-ofthe- century train station, and Egyptian-themed theaters that became the best performing in the county.”

When asked about the keys to his success, Hashemi cited his parents—who left their comfortable life and everything they had in Iran and began anew in America at age 60—as his mentors and inspiration, along with a real estate company owner who took the young immigrant under his wing.

Hashemi has served on the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale, and on the Board of Trustees of the Carl DeSantis Business and Economic Center for the Study and Development of the Motion Picture and Entertainment Industry at his alma mater. He is a past member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and a current member of the World Presidents’ Organization. When not “ dreaming about how to enhance our guest and member experience,” he enjoys boating and spending time with his children.

“Being in the theater business was never something I dreamed of or imagined for myself,” he said. “ I fell into it by accident…and loved it.”