The Alhambra Theatre & Dining in Jacksonville, Florida, is the oldest continuously-running professional dinner theater in the United States,[1] and the only professional resident theatre in Northeast Florida. USA Today's readers voted the venue the best dinner theatre in the US in April 2025.[2]
History
The Alhambra was built by Jacksonville businessman Leon Simon in 1967 and purchased by Tod Booth, Sr. in 1984. Booth moved to Jacksonville from Chicago, where he worked as artistic director for the Drury Lane Theaters. His family has frequently been involved, with daughter Jessica Booth and wife Lisa Valdini appearing in a number of shows and son Tod Jr. contributing in various aspects, including acting, directing and stage managing of the dinner theatre before becoming general manager and director of the Alhambra's Children's Theatre.[3]
As with other dinner theaters of the 1970s, Alhambra initially relied on the appeal of former stars of film, television and music to attract customers. Alhambra's first such headliner was in