Chestnut Hill's Movie Night Now Starts Somewhere Else on The Street

Showcase SuperLux Chestnut Hill came through its sale to a Belgian cinema company looking almost the same. Davio's, the restaurant that shared the building and was created for moviegoers, did not survive it.

In 2013, Davio's opened at 55 Boylston Street as Davio's Cucina. Boston Magazine describes it as a "more-relaxed spinoff" of the steakhouse brand, "geared toward pre- or post-movie meals." The Cucina name was eventually dropped, but the arrangement held for thirteen years: dinner and the film were in one building, and the walk between them took a few steps. That ended on June 28, 2026, when Davio's served its last meals.

The screen at 55 Boylston works the way it always has. What the sale changed is the rest of the evening.

How a theater sale closed a restaurant

The timeline moved quickly. On June 11, 2026, Kinepolis Group, a cinema operator listed on Euronext, announced an agreement with Harbor Lights Entertainment, the company formerly known as National Amusements, to buy its 13 U.S. Showcase Cinemas. Seven of those theaters are in Massachusetts. Kinepolis put the deal's enterprise value at $30 million and said that figure is "largely covered by the substantial Real Estate value of the owned US Showcase Cinemas." Six of the 13 theaters are owned, and the others operate under leases.

Less than two weeks after the announcement, Davio's Chestnut Hill was closing. Owner Steve DiFillippo told Boston Magazine that the restaurant's agreement with the theater ended in June and that he had no deal with the new owners. "There are a million reasons why restaurants close, but this one is not closing because of lack of business," he told the magazine. "We're closing because we don't have a lease. We can't stay in a space that's not ours." He also said most of the staff would move to other Davio's locations and that he was looking for a new spot in Chestnut Hill.

Kinepolis completed the purchase on September 11, 2026, almost three months after Davio's had already closed. The restaurant's fate was decided while the deal was still pending.

What the new owner said it would keep

Kinepolis has been direct about the theaters. When it signed the deal and again when it closed, the company said it "will continue to operate Showcase Cinemas under the existing brand name and prioritizes the continuity for all Showcase customers." In the same release, CEO Eddy Duquenne said the acquisition "provides a valuable real estate position, with future opportunities for further redevelopment and optimization being explored."

Kinepolis gave a sense of scale for what it bought. The 13 theaters have 164 screens and 17,794 seats, drew roughly 4 million visitors in 2025 and brought in more than $90 million in revenue. In 80% of the auditoriums, the seating is stadium-style recliners.

At 55 Boylston, the continuity is visible. Here is how the theater stands as the holidays approach:

The Bargain Tuesday exception is the item most likely to catch a regular off guard. Showcase's program page lists the discount at its other Massachusetts theaters and excludes SuperLux Chestnut Hill. At this location, Starpass is the way to save, because the program waives online ticketing fees and earns rewards on every purchase.

Dinner is now a separate stop

The building still feeds its audience. The SuperLux menu offers in-seat delivery, so you can order from your recliner through the app, or you can stop at the lobby bar for a cocktail before the lights go down. For a sit-down dinner, though, you now leave 55 Boylston and walk somewhere else on The Street.

The restaurant lineup there has changed this year as well. Limani, the Greek seafood restaurant at 33 Boylston Street, closed in January after opening in spring 2022. That means The Street lost two of its larger dinner rooms in the first half of 2026. Over the same months, the new arrivals came in different formats. Madras Dosa Co. opened at 9 Boylston Street on March 2 in the former Bagel Table storefront. It serves customizable dosas, idly and chaat, and it is the Indian street-food restaurant's third Massachusetts location. The Sweetish Fish, a Swedish candy shop with a rotating "Catch of the Day" scooping counter, opened its first permanent storefront at 33 Boylston on May 1.

The Street's directory lists these places to eat within walking distance of the theater:

• Sit-down and table-service dinner: Legal Sea Foods, Bernard's, Aquitaine, Bianca, Pineapple Thai
• Quicker meals: Madras Dosa Co., Chilacates, Shake Shack, Just Salad, Pink Carrot, Chef Dave's
• After the credits: Van Leeuwen, The Half Cookie, The Sweetish Fish, Mia's Brooklyn Bakery, Blue Bottle Coffee

Each of these is a short walk from 55 Boylston rather than a few steps down the same corridor. The time you need between your reservation and your showtime is now worth planning in its own right.

Planning a SuperLux evening this holiday season

Since the theater and dinner are now two separate stops, this order works well for an evening at SuperLux:

1. Book seats first. If you buy through Starpass online, the ticketing fee is waived, and that matters more here because Bargain Tuesday pricing does not apply at this location.
2. Choose dinner by your showtime. For an early show, pick one of the quicker counters on The Street. For a late show, there is time for a full dinner at one of the table-service restaurants first.
3. Order treats ahead if you are going straight in. Showcase's Order Ahead program lets you pick up snacks at the Xpress Pick-up window instead of waiting in the concession line.
4. Look at the special-event calendar. SuperLux is showing Doctor Who: The Satan Pit for one night on November 23.
5. Use the gift-card offer for holiday shopping. Through December 31, Showcase is adding a free $5 bonus card for every $25 in gift cards purchased.

For larger groups, the private screening option is the closest thing left to having dinner and a movie under one roof. Showcase books a private auditorium for up to 20 guests and offers food and beverage packages, including a kids menu, along with your choice of a new release or a title from its catalogue of older films. If you are planning a December family gathering or a holiday party for a small team, that is a single booking at one address.

The building to watch on The Street

55 Boylston is the part of The Street most worth following in 2026. The theater's new owner has promised continuity for customers, and so far the seats, the menu and the rewards program back that up. The same company has also said it is exploring redevelopment and optimization across the real estate it bought. Steve DiFillippo has said he would like to bring Davio's back to Chestnut Hill at a new address.

At Robin Allen, I follow changes like this one along Boylston Street closely, because the places a household uses every week are part of what a Chestnut Hill address offers. If you would like to talk about how the changes on The Street fit into your own plans, request a private consultation.