The first facility where dinner and the show were together in one room was the "Candlelight Theatre Restaurant" in Washington, D.C. Bill Pullinsi was a theater student in 1959 who conceived and implemented the entertainment concept at the Presidential Arms Hotel during summer breaks. The venture was successful, but it was unable to convert to a year-round operation, due to the hotel's convention business. Pullinsi returned to his Chicago home and opened the "Candlelight Dinner Playhouse", first in a building owned by his grandfather, then in a new facility with seating for 550. The Candlelight introduced several innovations, including the hydraulic stage, lighting equipment located in the mezzanine, and stage wagons on wheels.