My Own Private Alamo

Let’s say you and your friends are obsessed with a certain movie. Let’s say it’s My Own Private Idaho, starring Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix. This one time, years ago, you all got together to watch it with a few bottles of wine and had a blast. You’d like to do that again. Maybe as a double feature this time, with Point Break? Don’t crowd into some apartment living room with cats walking all over everyone’s lap and a one of those old tube TVs and that bathroom that you’d really like to tell your friend to clean but you’re not sure how to mention it politely.

Come to Aviary. You see, in addition to a new HD projector and a 10-foot framed screen in the lounge area that we’re super proud of to the point of bragging all the time, hosting group events has become THE BEST TIME we could possibly have, and we want to do more more more of it. There are already regular groups nabbing time slots up — for society meetings, book clubs, company parties, you name it — but we haven’t booked up too many regular gigs yet.

So this is your chance. Want to watch a movie with your buds every Thursday night on our screen? Just ask. Bring your own movie. We won’t charge you. But we can feed you. And we promise our wine and beer are better than the Fiesta Mart special and sixer of Lone Star your friends usually bring. Our bean bag chairs and lounging cushions are way more comfortable than the floor you’re always stuck sitting on because the Ikea couch is already full. (We promise. Otherwise we wouldn’t keep selling them.) And, best of all, nobody gets stuck with the dishes. (Okay, Marco gets stuck with the dishes. But he doesn’t mind. Really.)

Think of Aviary as your own private Alamo Drafthouse experience, only with no admission charge and you get to program the movies. Give us enough lead time, and we’ll even brainstorm a special menu with you. One group brought in Amelie and got treated to specially-made crème brûlée.

Here’s what you do: e-mail marco@aviarydecor.com with what you want to do, about how many people you expect (we’re cool with any number between 4 and 40), and the day you’d like to do it. We book these on a first-come, first-served basis. Or just stop in and ask Marco in person. Some brainstorming, some pencils on some calendars, and voila, you just got yourself the best spot in town for a movie night, or a weekly film club, or a place to finally do that live action recreation of the naked dance scene from the original Wicker Man (followed by a drunken mockery fest with the updated Nicolas Cage version), or whatever.

That’s just the movies. We’ll take any other kind of social club as well. So call (512-916-4445), e-mail or stop in soon. We’re going to be promoting the heck out of this idea until we get parties coming out of our ears, so the sooner you lock in your group’s time, the better.

PS – There’s a new weekday happy hour with $1 off all beer and wine from 4 to 7 if that helps you schedule your plans.