South Padre Island’s last movie house closed recently, leaving an entertainment void for tourists and local residents alike.

Robert Gallagher’s Nana’s 7D Cinema isn’t a movie theater, but it does aim to provide visual entertainment along those lines. It opened earlier this year – with its official ribbon cutting and grand opening celebrated late last week – and the 3D cinema experience it provides is proving to be a hit. 

Nana’s simulates a roller coaster ride with a nine seat-platform for riders as they wear 3D glasses and take in adventures that include special effects like rain, wind and snow. The virtual experience takes them through vivid landscapes and the darkness of caves and caverns. There’s a robust listing of over 60 rides choices at Nana’s, with each lasting five to 12 minutes and costing $6 apiece.

Gallagher, a retired postal service worker and Texarkana native, is enjoying the ride himself and pleased to be bringing tourists and visitors another source of entertainment on the Island. 

“I’m working 12 hours a day and having a blast,” he said at the ribbon cutting event.

Nana’s got going in early 2021, building up a following, with its Disney World-like visual experience on a smaller but still exciting scale. 

“Not every community has something like this,” said Alita Bagley, the president of the South Padre Island Chamber of Commerce, who was on hand to help celebrate the ribbon cutting. “It adds a great amenity for the Island. It’s an exciting place to visit in addition to going to the beach.”

Building On A Legacy

Gallagher will soon be adding Nana’s 9VR. Customers will be able to sit in spinning chairs with a small computer backpack and wear eyepieces that takes them inside of the video game they’re playing. The two businesses keep Gallagher busy and are helping him deal with the grieving process of losing his wife Danita in recent years. They were married for nearly 42 years before her death.

He has found a new home on the Island, a place he had never visited before his arrival in 2018 after the passing of his wife. In her honor, Gallagher named his two businesses after the nickname their grandchildren gave her – Nana – and is fulfilling a promise.

“I promised my wife I’d keep going on,” Gallagher said.

That he has, and judging by all of the smiles at the red cutting, he is bringing many on the Island a source of entertainment that adds to the beach and sand of South Padre.

Nana’s 7D Cinema is open daily from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. at 1004 Padre Blvd., Suite G-1.