The Culinary Edge Transforms Harkins Theatre into The Backlot
Full article available at Bar & Restaurant.
When the 90-year-old Harkins Theatre in North Phoenix needed to evolve into a modern entertainment destination, The Culinary Edge stepped in to create The Backlot, a Family Entertainment Center that merges Hollywood storytelling with elevated dining.
TCE President Graham Humphreys breaks down the approach: "We wanted to help them take 90 years of cinema magic and extend it into dining. By building on Harkins' deep moviegoing legacy, we designed a destination where every menu item, every moment, and every detail invites guests into the magic behind the scenes."
The transformation required three things: big brand storytelling, operational discipline, and hospitality-level food and beverage. At the heart of The Backlot is Studio Canteen, a dining destination built to deliver elevated movie-inspired fare. TCE also handled menu creation for Harkins' dine-in theaters, keeping things consistent across both experiences.
The menu features shareables, premium burgers, fresh bowls and salads, pizzas named for iconic film characters, and drinks that steal the show. Creative cocktails pay homage to Old Hollywood with names like the TCB (a nod to Elvis), shareable Moscow mules and margaritas, and over-the-top milkshakes including Birthday Cake, Cookie Monster, and Strawberry Shortcake. Each shake comes with decorated rims, garnishes like whole cake slices and cookies, and colorful straws designed to make people pull out their phones.
Humphreys points out that people are dining out less often, which raises the stakes. "When they splurge, that splurge is really going to deliver a return on that investment of time."
TCE focused on operational discipline behind the scenes. Every menu item is designed to be delicious and simple to build, with cross-utilized ingredients to keep the pantry manageable. The team designs with the least experienced staff member in mind, iterating recipes 20 to 30 times until they land on the simplest, most reliable way to deliver something great. Batching cocktails helps speed execution without sacrificing quality.
The result balances bold guest experiences with smart operations, proving that hospitality-level food and beverage can scale in an entertainment environment.