Drive in diners & theaters?

[sst9303]

[quote I cannot even envision a modern drive in movie with today's culture (even though it was "the place to be" back in my day) surviving.[/quote]

There are 4 within <hour drive in our area and they boom with business, there a couple that have been open for about 2 weeks with restrictions and have been sold out every night.....

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by PandaBear
If you drive in don't you still need bathroom? If so then you still have the risk of dining in.

You do have the risk but I do believe it's different--you're not sitting for an hour in the same room as a bunch of people, rather, you're just passing by if you are using the same hallway. Risk goes proportional to time of exposure.

Besides they could just put in a bunch of portapotties. Hardly ideal but cheap, and those oughta stand up to some pretty rigorous (and harsh) cleaning practices (being made of nothing but plastic).


Forget risk of anything- People simply are not going to go out in droves to eat at places in a car and use a porta potty that spring up all of a sudden.

The media can tell you all this "new normal" stuff but the people aren't going to have it or embrace it. ( and not going to tolerate it based on the surge of lawsuits)

I wouldn't invest capital in any venture based on the continuation of current circumstances.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

Originally Posted by sst9303
[quote I cannot even envision a modern drive in movie with today's culture (even though it was "the place to be" back in my day) surviving.


There are 4 within quote]

"booming with business" is not a P&L nor is it a net margin nor is it an indicator of overall profitability over time.

Sure theres always the situational buck just like a county fair and this is a similar situation but that's hardly "proof" of a new and profitable market that did not exist before nor is it an assurance the "uniqueness" will continue at a level to sustain a business.

 

[wag123]

I would think that drive-in theaters could do a booming business right now, if there were any left. In addition to showing first-run feature films (people are dying to go to the movies) and live concerts at night, during the day they could do church services, graduations, funerals, weddings, campaign events, and meetings (like city council, etc). Concession and food orders could be placed on an app and delivered to each vehicle. The only problem would be the restrooms. I suppose that they could station porta-potties spaced out around the perimeter coupled with hand wash/sanitation stations.
I don't think that this Covid thing is going to go completely away anytime soon. This could be a good business opportunity.

 

[sst9303]

Originally Posted by ABN_CBT_ENGR
Originally Posted by sst9303
[quote I cannot even envision a modern drive in movie with today's culture (even though it was "the place to be" back in my day) surviving.


There are 4 within div>


"booming with business" is not a P&L nor is it a net margin nor is it an indicator of overall profitability over time.

Sure theres always the situational buck just like a county fair and this is a similar situation but that's hardly "proof" of a new and profitable market that did not exist before nor is it an assurance the "uniqueness" will continue at a level to sustain a business.
[/quote]

All 4 have been in business for 10+ years and 1 of the 2 that has opened "back up" for the summer has been around even longer, something is working for them to open back up each summer..........if they weren't profitable they wouldn't be around.

 

[ABN_CBT_ENGR]

Originally Posted by sst9303


All 4 have been in business for 10+ years and 1 of the 2 that has opened "back up" for the summer has been around even longer, something is working for them to open back up each summer..........if they weren't profitable they wouldn't be around.


I think the point and context are not aligned here. Maybe it got lost in the mix or I didn't make it clear.

I was referring (in relation to the OP) NEW businesses of same ( with all the start up costs in formerly unproven markets)

An existing business in a proven sustaining market taking advantage of current circumstances with a minimal additional investment is a whole different animal and not what I was referring to.

 

[Lyman]

Our local drive in about a mile away opened back up last night.

 

[sst9303]

Originally Posted by ABN_CBT_ENGR
Originally Posted by sst9303


All 4 have been in business for 10+ years and 1 of the 2 that has opened "back up" for the summer has been around even longer, something is working for them to open back up each summer..........if they weren't profitable they wouldn't be around.


I think the point and context are not aligned here. Maybe it got lost in the mix or I didn't make it clear.

I was referring (in relation to the OP) NEW businesses of same ( with all the start up costs in formerly unproven markets)

An existing business in a proven sustaining market taking advantage of current circumstances with a minimal additional investment is a whole different animal and not what I was referring to.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by supton
So, anyone with a magic crystal ball: drive in theaters & diners, might they make a comeback?

We have these here in MI. Some of them are starting to re-open against the governor's orders, although they're suggesting that you bring your own food and just remain in the car.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted by ABN_CBT_ENGR

Forget risk of anything- People simply are not going to go out in droves to eat at places in a car and use a porta potty that spring up all of a sudden.

The media can tell you all this "new normal" stuff but the people aren't going to have it or embrace it. ( and not going to tolerate it based on the surge of lawsuits)

I wouldn't invest capital in any venture based on the continuation of current circumstances.


This. You want to charge me money to do what? I'd either cook at home or order take out instead.

Also about drive in theater. Unless I am a teenager wanting to find a place to get some backseat actions away from my parents, why would I want to do that instead of Netflix and Chill? This is 2020, not 1960s.

 

[JustinH]

Meh, sorry don't want to sit in my car and watch a movie in Texas summer.

However we did go to Corpus last weekend to walk the beaches.

Had a great take out lunch, and sat in lawn chairs in the parking lot of the restaurant.

Odd times indeed.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted by JustinH
Meh, sorry don't want to sit in my car and watch a movie in Texas summer.
However we did go to Corpus last weekend to walk the beaches.
Had a great take out lunch, and sat in lawn chairs in the parking lot of the restaurant.
Odd times indeed.


Really tired of eating in the truck … so a couple days after my in the restaurant breakfast I decided to visit one of my seafood spots. Even with crawfish in (they farm them too) the place was maybe at 25%. Started thinking why? Folks not ready, less folks working, some don't know they opened, some eating on the big stash at home ?…dunno but low customer numbers just made it safer. They had Germ-X at door, staff in masks, paper table cloths, and everything inside was take away material … all disposable. Even noticed other customers brought hand sanitizer. (have carried it for many years).
Had some really good fried oysters and crawfish mashed potatoes! Window seat by the pond watching kids feed ducks … simple things always taken for granted before.

 

[dlundblad]

We have a hotdog stand and drive in theatre that typically stay pretty busy. I'm just not a fan of the food or staying out until 1am. I'm too old for that.

I'll admit, it'll be a long time before we go out to eat as well.

 

[4WD]

Dinner inside local restaurant in the evening
Think this is 4th place I hit since opening up
Also 60 ounce bottles of sanitizer at Walmart
Getting there

 

[wag123]

Originally Posted by ABN_CBT_ENGR
Most towns can only support maybe a handful of sonics now and that's probably at market saturation now for that type of business.

Originally Posted by AZjeff
I get gas beside a SONIC and it's always busy, maybe busier now.
+1
All of the Sonics around here are ALWAYS busy, and they have been for years.