The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission says they haven't yet received the completed application from the AMC First Colony 24, but that's not unusual. The theater posted the notice a little more than two months ago and the TABC wouldn't be able to grant the permit for 60 days anyway.
But news that the theatre maybe serving drinks along with the popcorn doesn't sit well with Sugar Land residents.
On a pleasant September evening in the Sugar Land Town Square, kids and parents came out to enjoy the atmosphere.
"It's got a good family feel. I mean, I'd want to keep that sort of feel," dad Pete Webber said.
But family friendly is not what parents are calling the notice at the AMC First Colony 24 Movie Theatre that it's applied for a permit to serve alcohol.
"It's (less likely) that I'll probably send any children there by themselves," mother Anna Molina said.
The TABC says in the two-plus months the notice has been up, they've received one formal protest against granting the theatre a liquor license and more than a handful of phone calls.
The AMC in First Colony is the first of the chain in the Houston area to request a liquor license, although there are a number of AMC Theatres in the Dallas area that are permitted to serve alcohol.
This was the email response from AMC's public relations:
"AMC is always exploring new opportunities to expand the food and beverage options we offer our guests."
But those guests and how old they are is what concerns Sugar Land residents.
"There are a lot of underage kids going there and there is no need," father Ruben Molina said.
AMC wouldn't tell us much, only, "We are working closely with local officials on the process, however, it's still early in the process and we do not have any plans we can share at this time."
But the Sugar Land parents we talked to worry those plans mean Sugar Land will be a little less family friendly.
"A lot of times up there it doesn't have that same Sugar Land type feel, especially on the weekend especially with a lot of unruly teenagers and people running around. I think it might be a bad idea," Webber said.
It is not illegal for minors to be in establishments that serve alcohol but the TABC says the AMC First Colony 24 would be subject to law enforcement stings if it gets the liquor license.
