My recollection of the end was very different than NaD’s. You see, I owned the drive-in in 2001 and still do today.
I could share all kinds of horror stories about the last “managers” of the place. Unless NaD were lying on their box office reports, the drive-in wasn’t doing much business at all during it’s short 6-week season in 2001. It wasn’t even clearing film rental minimums. It only drew over 100 cars ONE WEEKEND in six. The last weekend it drew less than 90 cars. Hardly, a “packed” lot by any stretch of the imagination.
As far as I could tell the only successful project the “managers” completed was getting a satellite dish hooked up so that they could watch TV. We won’t even get into the missing money, important documents, equipment and keys. And we won’t talk about the reason that the ceiling caved – the fact that the electricity and water was left on. I was lucky the “managers” didn’t burn the place to the ground.
Guess this owner learned an important lesson too: never hire 21-year old slackers with credit problems as managers. What they don’t take, they tear up. Talk about a “sour taste” in one’s mouth ….
After losing over $180,000 in two months on the Keysville Drive-In and with no end to the bleeding in site, I did what any sensible person would do. I chose to stop the bleeding.
The closure of this drive-in was painful in the extreme. It was my teen years drive-in. I saw “Jaws”, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, “The Longest Yard” and “Saturday Night Fever” there. I loved the place and wanted to save it. I spent more than I had on it and hoped for the best. What I encountered was a perfect storm of bad luck: horrible managers, expensive repairs that I had to take care of long distance while shuffling two jobs & a family and little to no local support.
I still have not given up on one day reviving the drive-in. But unless I can oversee the operation personally or find a competent manager, I’ll let it sit. No way … no how do I want to repeat the horror and pain of 2001.
My recollection of the end was very different than NaD’s. You see, I owned the drive-in in 2001 and still do today.
I could share all kinds of horror stories about the last “managers” of the place. Unless NaD were lying on their box office reports, the drive-in wasn’t doing much business at all during it’s short 6-week season in 2001. It wasn’t even clearing film rental minimums. It only drew over 100 cars ONE WEEKEND in six. The last weekend it drew less than 90 cars. Hardly, a “packed” lot by any stretch of the imagination.
As far as I could tell the only successful project the “managers” completed was getting a satellite dish hooked up so that they could watch TV. We won’t even get into the missing money, important documents, equipment and keys. And we won’t talk about the reason that the ceiling caved – the fact that the electricity and water was left on. I was lucky the “managers” didn’t burn the place to the ground.
Guess this owner learned an important lesson too: never hire 21-year old slackers with credit problems as managers. What they don’t take, they tear up. Talk about a “sour taste” in one’s mouth ….
After losing over $180,000 in two months on the Keysville Drive-In and with no end to the bleeding in site, I did what any sensible person would do. I chose to stop the bleeding.
The closure of this drive-in was painful in the extreme. It was my teen years drive-in. I saw “Jaws”, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”, “The Longest Yard” and “Saturday Night Fever” there. I loved the place and wanted to save it. I spent more than I had on it and hoped for the best. What I encountered was a perfect storm of bad luck: horrible managers, expensive repairs that I had to take care of long distance while shuffling two jobs & a family and little to no local support.
I still have not given up on one day reviving the drive-in. But unless I can oversee the operation personally or find a competent manager, I’ll let it sit. No way … no how do I want to repeat the horror and pain of 2001.