The marquee of a favorite local landmark may go dark next year if money isn’t found to make a technological leap.
According to Mike and Lisa Chenette, owners of Jericho Drive-In and Twist Ice Cream Shoppe in Glenmont, drive-ins and independent movie theaters are being forced to upgrade to digital projection machines as the movie industry begins to phase out the use of 35mm film. The digital projectors are expensive, about $70,000 to $100,000, and many believe it will be nearly impossible to find movies distributed on film as soon as next year.
“It’s a very expensive conversion … like a house. I don’t know that we would ever make that kind of money back,” said Lisa Chenette.
The drive-in has been a Glenmont institution since it first opened in 1957. In 1995, it was purchased by Mike Chenette, who had saved up for years in order to own his own business.
“I’d been going to the drive-in since I was a little kid, so when the opportunity arose it seemed like a dream job for me,” said Mike Chenette. “Just a lot of fun.”
The couple added the ice cream stand in 2007 and the next year purchased a brand new 40-by-90-foot screen. Lisa Chenette said they are still in the process of paying back both investments.
“This is not good timing for us,” said Mike Chenette of the digital conversion.
Many of the country’s larger multiplexes updated their projectors years ago, but now the burden is falling on smaller, locally operated theaters. Lisa Chenette said they’ve known the change was coming for several years, but there was never a definite timeframe for the switch. Now, the industry is pressing the point and no longer wants to release movies on film as a cost-cutting measure.
Because of this hardship, Honda Motor Company is sponsoring a competition called Project Drive-In, which is meant to “raise community awareness” about the issue across the nation. It will also give new digital projectors to the five drive-ins in the country that get the most votes either online or through text message. The Chenettes hope the contest could be Jericho’s salvation.
“Cars and drive-in theaters go hand-in-hand, and it’s our mission to save this decades-old slice of Americana that holds such nostalgia for so many of us,” said Alicia Jones, Honda’s American manager of Honda & Acura social marketing, in a statement.
Mike Chenette heard about the contest from a coworker at his day job last Monday. Lisa then spent the next two days attempting to contact Honda in order to become an official contestant.
“It was like a second chance for us,” said Mike Chenette.
The couple and their employees are now working to spread the word about their involvement in the contest. The Jericho Drive-In website is advertising the competition, and each person who buys ice cream, a snack or movie ticket will receive a small flyer instructing them how to vote.
Voting began on Aug. 9 and will end on Sept. 9. A person can vote twice a day, once online and once by text message. Those voting are being encourages spread the word about the competition through social media. The winners will be announced in September.
As part of Project Drive-In, those voting can also donate funds through Honda’s website. That money will then be divided between all the drive-ins that participated in the competition that didn’t win a projector.
Lisa Chenette said she is grateful for Honda’s contest, and is unsure what the couple will do if Jericho does not win.
“I don’t know how I feel about asking people for money to keep us in business,” she said about the possibility of a fundraiser. “People have asked and said they want to help, but it’s nobody’s fault that we are converting to digital except the movie industry.”
The Chenettes said they plan to wait to make a decision on Jericho’s future after they learn the outcome of the competition. Lisa Chenette said for their drive-in to win, it’s important for members of the community to remember to vote every day until the competition ends.
“If we do win, everyone will know,” said Mike Chenette. “We’re going to throw a big bash.”
To vote for Jericho Drive-In in Honda’s Project Drive-In competition, visit projectdrivein.com/#vote_94 or text Vote94 to 444999.