Imagine the components of a good home theater: a comfortable couch or two, good sound, a widescreen TV and easy access to food and drink.

Now imagine a home theater on steroids. That’s the vision for the State Theatre downtown, which will open Saturday and provide Lincoln with a new option for second-run movies.

Inspired by the success of the McMenamins chain of theater-pubs in the Pacific Northwest, a husband-and-wife team from Oregon leased the old O Street theater and will bring Lincoln moviegoers a new way to enjoy film. The couple also had considered locations in California and Hawaii before deciding on Lincoln.

With the seats removed before several failed stints as a nightclub, the theater provided a perfect venue for a movie theater with couches and tables instead of stadium-style seats, beer and wine instead of pop, and imported desserts instead of popcorn and Junior Mints.

“It’s a really cool concept,” said David McNeil, who will be opening the new theater with his wife, Takako. “For me, that’s the best way to watch a movie.”

McNeil said he thinks visitors to the new theater will agree. The theater can hold about 250 guests in three different seating areas. The rows closest to the screen will be filled with couches, the middle section of the theater features a bar with about 20 stools, and seating at the back of the theater will be tables and chairs.

In providing a new movie experience, McNeil said his goal is to keep ticket, food and beverage prices comparable to those of traditional movie theaters. He said he expects the cost of a glass of beer or wine and an appetizer or dessert to rival that of a soda and bag of popcorn.

The theater will open with a limited selection of premium beer and wine, as well as desserts imported from Italy. Food choices will also be limited at first and will include Tiramisu and a berry torte. As the McNeils find a routine for operating the theater, they’ll add new food and drink options.

They’ll also open the theater up to more people.

McNeil said he was aware of the trouble that could come from serving alcohol in such a dark venue, so the theater will open initially for patrons over 21 years old. It might take a few months to come up with a plan to keep alcohol out of minors’ hands, so for now minors will be permitted only if accompanied by a parent.

Once he has a plan to avoid serving minors, McNeil said he’ll open the theater to all ages, following the family-friendly model of the McMenamins theaters he was fond of in Portland. That may mean dividing it into drinking and non-drinking sections, though he acknowledged that that could take away patrons’ ability to relax on the couches with a glass of wine.

“We’ll definitely stay out of trouble,” he said.

With trouble out of the way, McNeil said he hopes part of the routine will include a weekly addition to the movie rotation. Though he’s opening the theater with action movies “Grindhouse” and “300,” McNeil hopes to show mostly comedies, which he said were great experiences at similar theaters in Oregon.

“I saw ‘Something About Mary,’ and people were literally rolling on the floor,” he said. “You get a couple beers, it just heightens the comedy.”

Comedies are accessible to people of all ages, another priority.

“This theater is perfect with the students here,” McNeil said.

Another factor in the decision to set up in Lincoln was the overall condition of the building.

“They have taken really good care of the building,” McNeil said.

The inside of the theater had to undergo some renovations to restore it for movie use, but McNeil said things went smoothly. The lobby got new flooring and paint, and a bar and new lighting were installed. In addition to the couches and tables, crews also installed acoustic material on the walls, a new sound system, a new screen and new projection equipment. Work on the exterior will restore the facade to its original appearance.

The mural on the east wall of the theater also has been restored as part of the McNeils’ efforts to preserve the history of the building.

“It’s kind of a big deal for people who grew up here and remember that mural,” McNeil said.

Even with the historical building restored, a trip to the State Theatre will be a new affair that McNeil said really has to be experienced to be fully appreciated.

“It’s hard to describe,” he said. “It’s going to definitely be good stuff.”

Reach Alex Haueter at 473-7254 or at ahaueter@journalstar.com.