Drive-in success story: Occasional free nights

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Las Vegas 6 Drive-In Theatre signs

Signs for West Wind’s Las Vegas 6. Photo by Neon Michael from the Carload Flickr group.

I picked this up from the Santa Barbara (CA) Independent, but it really applies to all of West Wind‘s drive-in theaters in California, Nevada, and Arizona. This is a brilliant idea. Show recent, family-friendly movies for free on one special, promoted weeknight. It reminds families how much fun it is to go to the drive-in, it probably generates enough concession stand sales to cover costs, and it’s definitely worth losing a standard early-season weeknight gate. Here’s the press release, as printed in the Independent:

As they have done every year for the last several years, the Santa Barbara Drive-In is hosting Customer Appreciation Night with free movies to the public on Thursday, April 25, 2013.

Drive-In theaters across the country are benefiting from a resurgence in demand with revenues outpacing traditional “walk-in” theaters by a wide margin. Drive-in movie attendance is up by double digits again this year and the West Wind Santa Barbara Drive-In has reaped the benefits.

Patrick LaCava, Senior Vice President of Operations explains that “value seems to be the major reason drive-ins are growing.” Tickets to the drive-in are only $7.00 per adult, and kids 5-11 years old are just $1.00, while kids 4 and under are free. Plus, you get double features each night, instead of just one movie at the indoor theaters. LaCava continues “A family of four with young children can see two first run movies for $14.00, or $16.00 if you have kids between 5-11 years old.”

If you think drive-ins are dead, think again. “Business is so good, we’ve reopened drive-ins. Five years ago we reopened the Solano Drive-In in Concord, CA and three years ago we reopened this one in Santa Barbara after being closed for 19 years“ according to LaCava.

Tony Maniscalco, Vice President of Marketing is thrilled that people are re-discovering the family fun of the drive-in. “Parents bring their kids to watch the first movie then the kids fall asleep in the back seat while the parents watch the second movie. It’s the perfect baby sitter.”

Drive-ins presentation has changed considerably over the years yet the nostalgic feeling remains. Improvements in presentation and sound that now rivals walk-in along with delicious well-known brands at a fraction of the cost you find at conventional theatres are just part of the draw. There’s still that great old school vibe in a family friendly and updated location.

The West Wind Drive-Ins are taking this great value one step further with Free Movie Customer Appreciation Night on Thursday, April 25, featuring recent movie blockbusters Wreck It Ralph and Jack the Giant Slayer. “We are opening up our drive-ins as we do a few times every year to thank our loyal customers and to invite those who have not yet experienced the drive-in to give it a try. We typically show first run movies every night but on Customer Appreciation Night we give everyone a chance to catch up on the best movies of the past few months.” Maniscalco explains. “Relax in your car or bring a chair and a blanket and enjoy your movie under the stars and moonlight” adds LaCava.

Drive-in success story: Become a popular restaurant

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Maybe this is cheating a bit, but this news report is a great illustration of an idea that more drive-ins should use. It’s from WBOY, Clarksburg WV’s news leader, and it’s all about the Ellis Restaurant on US 19 south of Shinnston. As much as we like restaurants, the only reason we care about this story is that the Ellis started as the snack shack for the adjacent Sunset Drive-In Theater, which is still operating. You can see both the restaurant and the screen in the Google Street View image embedded below. (It might help to zoom in a little.)

Anyway, this just shows that a great way to make a drive-in profitable is to make its restaurant popular all day and all year round. Since most of the ticket money goes to distributors, what’s left makes the business model of a drive-in theater look more like a seasonal, evening-only restaurant. So find a way to make that food wonderful (it often is) and find a way to make it convenient to buy even when the movies aren’t showing. If you can manage that, your place may be as successful as the Ellis, where the Sunset is reduced to second billing.

Update: Just after I posted this, I noticed that WBOY also ran a story about the Sunset, and they posted a video of that too. Too much multimedia for one story? Leave a comment and let me know. View Larger Map

The Spud keeps on rolling

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I Love the Spud T-shirtThe Jackson Hole (WY) News & Guide published an article about the continuing fundraising efforts of The Spud Drive-In, across the border in Driggs ID. The first four paragraphs provide a great glimpse of what it’s like to visit a drive-in with your friends when it’s cold outside. And there are two exceptionally nice photos above the fold; one shows a grid of LP records on the ceiling of the snack bar, and the other shows the projector shooting its beam through falling snow. This is one you really need to go read!

If you’ve got a long memory or have exhausted the posts here, you might recognize The Spud as one of the first subjects of the Carload blog. The News & Guide article updates its status. T-shirt sales have raised about $15,000 toward the cost of digital projection, and now Tyler Hammond, one of the operators of The Spud, is hoping to sell enough advertising on its corrugated tin privacy fence to make up the difference.

The News & Guide is very encouraging. “Spud supporters are plentiful in Teton Valley. Residents use it as a landmark when giving directions, as in, ‘If you pass the Spud you’ve gone too far.’ It’s a spot for first dates, family bonding and birthday celebrations. For most of the past 60 years it was the only movie theater for miles. The Spud is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and the Idaho State Historic Registry.” Let’s all hope for the best!