Josh Frank built Blue Starlite, an Austin drive-in that grew from 6 cars a night to 50 in three and a half years. He started with a 1990 Allegro trailer in an alley, added vintage speakers and carhops, and now screens movies Friday and Saturday nights in a small space near downtown.
Chapters
At a time when people are watching movies on the tiny screens of their mobile phones, an old-school way of catching a film is making something of a comeback. At one point in the late '50s, there were about 4,000 drive-in movie theaters in this country. That number has dwindled to less than 400 these days, but some of those survivors Are really thriving now.
It's not the booming Dolby sound you're gonna get at the local Megaplex. In fact, nothing at Austin's newest theater is state-of-the-art, and that's exactly the point.
Hi, how you guys doing tonight?
From the carhops to vintage speakers found on eBay. But now what's old is new again. Josh Frank thought Austin was ready for retro.
You're in public, in private, so people can go and socialize and be around other people, but then they can go into their little mobile living room and watch a movie.
For some parents, it's simply the desire to pass on a memory.
I'm excited to have my girls. I can't remember the last time I was at a drive-in, so I'm excited for them to kind of get the experience.
At the crossroads, a lost slice of American life. Have a good night. And a new generation of fans.
Welcome to the Blue Starlight. This is our office. I want to tell you a little bit about us. We are the world's first mini urban drive-in movie theater. We started about 3 and a half years ago in a little alleyway on First Street in Austin, Texas with 6 cars a night. We've now been open for over 3 years now. Let's step out of the office and I'll show you around a little bit. Oh yeah, our office is in a 1990 Allegro vintage trailer. It started out really just because I wanted a trailer. I wanted to buy like a gutted trailer and turn it into something. I liked the idea of taking something retro and doing something with it. Different. Reimagining. Then I got sort of vintage trailer fever. And I bought another trailer, a canned ham teardrop, which is kind of like this one except you could stand in it. The idea was to reinvent the vintage idea for a modern age, and that, that's what we've done with the Blue Star Line. We went from an alleyway with 6 cars to a much larger space with 20 cars, and then an even larger space last year with 30 cars. And then this year we moved to a space with 50 cars. And now we have this. All of our drive-ins, all the Blue Starlight drive-ins that is, have been located within 2 or 3 miles of a major city. Our first couple of versions were just blocks away from central downtown. Our business has grown really fast, but really steady over the last 3 years. People keep coming back and new people keep coming all the time. People really People really want a new version of the old drive-in movie experience. I found that 3 years ago people still wanted drive-ins around. They missed them. The problem was they just hadn't been reinvented for a modern age. So that's what we've done over the course of the last 3 years. We've reimagined what a drive-in movie theater is. We currently run the drive-in on Friday and Saturday nights. We add in Thursday date nights and Sunday family nights. A destination, a scene, something original, an experience for people to have. We are the world's first big urban drive-in movie theater. Just the idea of a drive-in outside in an old car, I mean, you can't go wrong with that. It's nostalgia at its very best. I want it to be an intimate experience. I want each person to feel like this is, you know, like they're getting sort of a private night at the drive-in. And that's what you get, you know, when you come here.
Thanks, folks, and once again, welcome back. Still time if you hurry! Last call for refreshments, folks! Go right this second to get something good to eat and drink to enjoy now or during the rest of the show! The finest quality ingredients are in the fixins of the delicious foods you'll find waiting to tempt your appetite at the snack bar! Extra special good hamburgers! Wonderful doughnuts! Ice cold thirst-quenching drinks! Drive away your worries and cares at this drive-in theater, where you will see the finest motion pictures of all time, soon to be released. Drama, comedy, adventure, excitement— something for everyone. And now, on with the show.
