Outside food: feature or menace?

Popcorn machine

© Depositphotos.com / SanHe83

I was doing my usual web prowl, searching for fun stuff and news to share here. I stumbled on the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In (Austin TX), and first of all, I’m unclear whether it “counts” as a real drive-in. As I mentioned a while ago, there are lots of things that aren’t drive-ins that pretend to be drive-ins, and I don’t like to talk about them. Is the Blue Starlite a real drive-in? Is it a worthy facsimile? I’ll have to return to that question in a later post.

When I visited the Blue Starlite web site, I found a quote that inspired me to write down something that’s been bouncing around in my head. On the Blue Starlite FAQ page is the question: “can I bring my own food and drink?” If I were feeling fussy, my reply would be that it’s likely that you have that ability, but perhaps you’d prefer to ask whether you may bring your own food and drink.

But the Blue Starlite FAQ answer is much nicer. “Yes. We don’t like to limit our customers options and enjoyment. As well as their creativity. However we do ask that you patronize our concession stand as well at least for your popcorn, candy and soda’s (sic) if you do not buy a concession package in advance. It really does help support our ability to keep bringing you quality nights of entertainment as only the drive-in can in Austin TX.”

That’s beautiful. I know that when I go to the drive-in, which is as often as I can, I love to bring food and sometimes something to drink. It’s a great benefit and incentive that I can create my own experience in my car while I watch the movie. But I would never visit without buying at least a large soda and a large popcorn from the concession stand. The incremental cost of a large soda is maybe a nickel, and the popcorn probably costs a dime or two, so I figure my cash should go straight to the operator’s payroll and profit.

I’ll make some enemies for saying this, but hey you drive-in operators, instead of treating customers as thieves and cheats for wanting to bring in the food they like, maybe you should look to your own kitchen to make sure you’re cooking something they want. It’s a good idea to explain the economics of running a drive-in as you encourage patrons to buy your food, and if you give your customers a good alternative, your convenience (and sufficient quality) should win their dollars more often than not. The Blue Starlite gets it, and you should too.

Wheel-In Motor Movie open for 60th season

Entrance to the Wheel-In Motor MovieThe Wheel-In Motor Movie (what a great name!), south of Port Townsend WA, reopened for its 60th season this week, as documented in the Peninsula Daily News.

The Wheel-In is owned by Rick Wiley, and he says that he’s “excited” about converting to digital projection next year. But even with digital, the Wheel-In won’t be showing 3D movies. “Three-D doesn’t work at drive-ins,” Wiley said. “You have the windshield blocking you, there are no walls, and you can never get the glasses back at the end of the movie.”

You really should go read this article for an interesting portrait of this third-generation drive-in owner who enjoys the hard work it takes to keep it running. According to the Peninsula Daily News, “The day before opening, (Wiley) was cutting grass, installing speakers and installing the sign that his grandfather created 60 years ago.” It makes me want to go visit soon!

Chicago Tribune rounds up Illinois drive-ins

Harvest Moon Drive-In marquee

photo by Earl Leatherberry, used by permission

The Chicago Tribune had a great article this past weekend rounding up a lot of the stuff we’ve been talking about here on Carload. A lot of Illinois drive-ins have turned to fundraising to finance the conversion to digital projection, and so far the results have been pretty good.

The Tribune article mentions the Harvest Moon, the Cascade, and the McHenry as examples of drive-ins that have converted or are trying to find the money to buy the equipment. And it gets more profound than I ever did. According to the article, “The predicament has made this year something of a referendum on how Americans value drive-ins, and perhaps by extension, how much we value nostalgia and the offbeat ambience of taking a typically indoor activity outdoors.” See, I would have said ambiance, although both spellings are okay.

At the Harvest Moon, they threw a customer appreciation party to celebrate the successful fundraiser and  presented the first public screening of the drive-in documentary “Going Attractions“. It’s director, April Wright, touched on a very important reason why drive-ins are drawing good crowds again. Quoting the article again, “The other sign of hope is Hollywood’s trend toward superhero, animated and more family-friendly movies, Wright said. All of those factors play directly to drive-ins’ strengths.”

This is a huge, well-written article that accumulates a lot of Carload’s Illinois coverage over the past six months and adds a lot more. You know that you really need to go read it!

Update: RYOT.org picked up the Tribune story, and it added a good map of drive-ins by state.