Cinema Grill moving into Front Street

And the first Front Street tenant is.... Cinema Grill.

That is according to an announcement made by Gov. M. Jodi Rell late Tuesday.

Rell said Cinema Grill, a combination movie theater and dining complex, has signed a lease and will be the first tenant for the Front Street development in Hartford. The company expects to open by mid-2011.

 "This is a major step forward for our ongoing efforts to bring new vitality and new economic development to downtown Hartford," Rell said. "I am tremendously pleased to have the first tenant in place for Front Street - and to have that tenant be such an exciting attraction."

Cinema Grill, which operates a number of locations in the Southeast and Midwest, offers patrons a chance to dine as well as watch a movie. The theater will occupy 22,500 square feet of the total 65,000 square feet available at Front Street, and will offer a state-of-the-art, multi-screen cinema, pub-style food and a full-service bar.

The theater will offer a diverse line-up of movies, ranging from mainstream pictures to independent and foreign films.

The Hartford Business Journal reported Monday that Front Street signed its first tenant, and that it would be a dinner-moive theater. But the name of the theater company had not been made public until today.