The movies: a cinematic escape from the world where you can relax and enjoy what’s on the screen.
Unfortunately, that escape is often accompanied by loud crunching, lip smacking, and drink slurping. The worst offender? Nachos. Movie theater nachos are messy and loud. Popcorn is noisy too, but at least you get a lot of it. With nachos, that isn’t the case. As writer Mark Oakley put it for DenofGeek, “Cinema chains should do us all a favour and say ‘No more’ to the nacho.”
Nachos are controversial, with some ranking them as the top food sold at movie theaters, and some as barrel-bottom trash. I don’t like them, but even my own mother reminisced about her love for drive-in theater nachos. Nachos have infiltrated my home, so I’ve decided to infiltrate theirs and ask: what’s the appeal?
At the IPIC Theatre in Colony Square, I walked into movies that were ending, standing patiently in the back of the theater looking for any possible nacho enjoyers. The first couple I noticed scooped their nachos into a to-go box and said they were not interested in an interview. However, they did laugh at the peculiarity of this article.
Christian Blakely, a supervisor at the IPIC, said he believes that the love for nachos comes from their historic popularity in other arenas, like sports games.
“It’s a classic concession combo, like hot dogs or popcorn, and you take this nostalgic quality and throw it into another entertainment form,” Blakely said. “People already understand it because of the history that comes with it.”
Diamond Thomas, an IPIC server, said she thinks the nachos at the IPIC are good, but wishes the queso was warmer. Inside the theater, the cheese can get cold fast. She also had strong opinions on what makes for good movie theater nachos.
“The chips and queso kind of nachos fit the theater vibe more,” she said. “The Regal ones are so good. I don’t like their cheese sauce, but they’re cheap as sh*t, and that makes it good.”
Kylie Hughes, a moviegoer at the Regal Atlantic Station who saw “Project Hail Mary,” also thinks the nostalgia around nachos plays a significant role.
“I remember my dad used to buy the nacho cheese from Sam’s Club, and the theater experience reminds me of that,” she said.
The ties of nostalgia become the key factor in this cheesy web of theater snacking. Nachos provide an alternative to popcorn and a nice blast from the past for some viewers. But, in my opinion, that isn’t enough to justify their existence. Christopher Escobar, the owner of the Plaza Theatre, shares a similar belief.
“I mean mostly, movie theater nachos suck,” Escobar said. “We don’t do them until we can do them well.”
