GRATZ — Although blue skies appeared through a hole in the screen at the Sky-Vu Drive-In Theater in Gratz on Friday, Tim Neal saw it as an opportunity and a “perfect” fit.
Neal, along with his wife, Renate, plan to reopen the Dauphin County drive-in this spring, since leasing the Route 25 theater last fall.
“It’s been my dream to operate a drive-in,” Neal, Chambersburg, said. “It’s just a special place. I see families coming here, kids playing and couples having dates.”
On Friday, they reviewed their ongoing renovations, including plans to replace a plywood panel on the screen in March, and have a targeted opening date of mid- to late April, weather permitting.
Take a chance
Neal said the current owner of the drive-in is Marvin Troutman, Millersburg, and he has a three-year lease agreement with Troutman’s daughter, Gina Troutman DiSanto. Neal said DiSanto is a member of the National Association of Theatre Owners of Pennsylvania.
He’s grateful DiSanto has given his family the chance to operate their first theater.
“We’re very fortunate she was willing to take on the risk and we’ve been so blessed to have people helping us out along the way,” Neal said. “This has been a turn-key operation,” he said, noting most upgrades were minor and cosmetic.
Neal said they will be showing first-run movies, since they were able to lease a Christie Digital Projector from DiSanto, and have worked with a film booker in an effort to get today’s popular releases. The drive-in still has two 35mm projectors in its projection room. Both of those will probably stay there, he said, although one of the 35mm projectors may have to move off to the side when the new digital projector becomes available. Neal said he may offer an older movie on the traditional equipment as a special showing, but the majority of the movies shown will be the newer releases.
Upgrades
Already, the Neals, along with friends, Lynford and Ruth Hafer, Shippensburg, have begun work on the concession stand, repainting the red, white and blue interior a solid red; and repairing and painting the ceiling tiles.
They plan to place stainless steel panels along the kitchen wall, erect a wall in the projection room and install a brand new fryer and griddle. The wall in the projection room will allow the space to remain at 65 to 75-degrees, the ideal temperature for the digital equipment and will help reduce dust which could interfere with the computer boards. The old, speaker sound system, which won’t be used with the digital projector, came from the Navy department; and the lights above the outdoor screen are lights that were used in the military, Neal said he was told. He’s unsure of the age of the Gratz drive-in, but thought the Sky-Vu had been operating in the 1960s. He kept the theater’s original name. Roughly, 331 drive-ins remain operational nationwide, according to Neal.
Mentors
Neal said two of his mentors — Fred Wonders, Pottsville, who’s a projectionist for Cumberland Drive-In, and Jim Kopp, from The Family Drive-In, Stephenson, Virginia — have played an important role in his family jumping into the drive-in business.
They’ve helped the Neals identify what types of movies could be shown, contracts, food vendors and offered business advice, he said. Today, Tim Neal was planning to meet with Wonders at the Cumberland Drive-In to learn more about digital projection.
Love of drive-ins
Tim Neal’s love of outdoor theaters began as a kid, growing up in Eden, North Carolina.
“My dad worked in the air conditioning business, and every weekend would be family time. We’d go to eat and see a movie at the drive-in,” he said.
Tim Neal moved to the Chambersburg area in 2000, where he met his wife.
One of the first dates he had with his wife 14 years ago was at the Cumberland Drive-In, he said.
“I remember she wore sandals and her feet got cold, so I gave her my socks,” Neal laughed.
The couple has three children, Terry Ott, 19; Colin Neal, 11, and Corie Neal, 5. Tim Neal works in the information/technology field for Frederick, Maryland, public schools; and Renate Neal works part-time in the dietary department at Menno Haven nursing home in Chambersburg. The family has been making the 1 and 1/2-hour commute in the evenings, or on weekends, to work on the theater, prepping for its reopening. During this summer, Neal said his family enjoys camping and will probably be camping out at the Pillow Campground during the weekends when the drive-in is operating.
New hires
As many as five, new part-time employees are anticipated to be hired, Neal said, to work in the ticket booth, concession stand and on the grounds, positioning cars for viewing the movie.
It’s expected the drive-in will be open on Fridays and Saturdays, and possibly on Sundays during a holiday weekend, Neal said. Occasionally, there may be some “Throwback Thursday” events, or some “Carload Specials” in the summer. He’d like to host a “Truck or Treat” showing in September or October, with a kid’s movie showing first, and then an adult movie showing later.
Ticket prices will probably be $7 for adults, and $4 for children. The concession stand is slated to offer hotdogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, popcorn, drinks and candy.
Family fit
Five years ago, Neal started looking for a drive-in to lease or rent. He drove to sites in State College and Williamsport that had unoccupied drive-ins, and also looked online for available theaters, but wasn’t having any luck finding a facility that fit his family’s needs.
“I’d spend three to four hours at a time online,” he said. Finally, he found a site through www.driveins.com while he was researching closed drive-ins which led him to the Gratz facility, which closed in 2014. The seven-acre site has space for 200 vehicles.
He learned more about the Dauphin County site in September 2015, and by October 2015 he had signed a lease and started to work on updates.
Community interest in the reopening has been growing on social media sites. The theater already has 1,943 likes on its Facebook page.
“They’ve been sharing a lot of good memories that they had here,” Renate Neal said.
For more information, visit the theater’s Facebook page at Sky-Vu Drive-In Theater, Gratz, PA.