“Working In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A series with downtown San Diego business operators. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who work here. This is the 20th in an ongoing series.
Company: Rooftop Cinema Club Embarcadero (1 Market Place, on the open-air, fourth-floor Sport Terrace of the Harbor Tower of the Manchester Grand Hyatt).
What happens here: We’re a boutique outdoor cinema. We screen top recent releases, everyone’s favorite cult classics and everything in between. Our guests listen through high-fidelity personal headphones and watch a crystal-clear picture on our famous LED big screen.
Specialty: Rooftop Cinema Club is more than a film, it’s an experience. We refer to it as “social cinema.” It’s an amazing place to enjoy a night out, gaze at the beautiful San Diego skyline and immerse yourself in a movie under the moon and stars. We encourage guests to come early and stay late. We have classic table games to play and serve cocktails and warm beverages.
Most surprising part of working downtown: It can get kind of chilly at night. That was one of the biggest challenges for keeping our guests comfortable. We recently launched a new activation called Fireside Films – loveseats with dedicated wood-burning heaters.
General Manager: Jason Rammelsberg. I moved to San Diego in 2011 and live in Allied Gardens. My commute to work is about 25 minutes.
Best aspects of working downtown: You couldn’t ask for a better location right next to the bay. I love coming to work.
Employees (in San Diego): 12. This is not your typical 9-5 office job where you’re sitting in a cubicle and staring at a computer for 8 hours a day. Our employees watch movies every night and interact with people who are always excited to come visit.
Origin story: Rooftop Cinema Club launched in 2011 with a single rooftop venue in London’s Shoreditch District. Founder Gerry Cottle grew up in the entertainment business. His dad was the founder of a circus, which performed all around the world. Gerry performed as a clown, juggler, acrobat and more. He stepped away from the circus to work in PR before taking his love of entertainment and pairing it with his passion for film.
Motto: Peace, Love and Great Film.
Parking: We have a great arrangement with the Hyatt and the folks from ACE Parking. Guests can self-park at the Hyatt and we can validate for up to four hours for $11.
Pandemic recovery: San Diego’s Rooftop Cinema Club opened in the spring of 2018 and gained instant popularity. COVID brought a bit of a rough patch, but because it’s an outdoor cinema, it was one of the first to re-open coming out of the pandemic.
Funniest downtown work memory: The first time we showed The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Everyone came dressed up and ready to party.
Scariest downtown work memory: One day out of the blue we had a swarm of bees show up and settle on one of our chairs right in the middle of the venue. No movie that day. We had a beekeeper come and safely remove them.
Celebrity sightings: During Comic-Con we had Norman Reedus and Jennifer McBride from The Walking Dead at a private party. Lots of other celebrities come unannounced during Comic-Con. The Padres have also had some private events here.
Big-event bumps: We don’t rely on big events but they certainly help. Padres games bring a large influx of people downtown and we do see an uptick at the box office. Comic-Con brings thousands of visitors to San Diego and folks who don’t have a badge or an invitation to private parties come to enjoy a movie at Rooftop Cinema Club.
Homelessness: We feel for the people who are housing insecure in downtown. It’s not an issue for us with our location being atop the Grand Hyatt.
Business friendliness of the city, on a scale of 1 (easiest) to 10 (hardest): We don’t work with the city, rather, with the Hyatt and I’d have to definitely give them a one.
Regulars: We have a terrific niche with local social media influencers, especially the young Instagram-ers and TikTok-ers. We have incredible, 180-degree views of San Diego from the Rooftop and really fun backdrops that make fantastic photos for social media.
If your business starred in a movie, what would it be called: The REAL Greatest Showman, starring Gerry Cottle (with apologies to Hugh Jackman).
Favorite downtown businesses that aren’t yours: The Bearcat Tattoo Gallery on Kettner is one of the best shops in the country, owned by my good friend Sierra Colt. The Balboa Bar & Grill on Fifth Avenue has some of the best cheeseburgers in town. The world-famous Casbah has hands-down the best rock ‘n’ roll in the city.
Best insider tip for running a downtown SD business: Make sure you have employees who really understand what great customer service is and means. All it takes is one bad experience for someone to say “‘OK, I’m done.” But if you provide a great experience and you make people feel important, they’re more likely to come back. SDSun
