Some businesses dealt with difficult times during the pandemic, but for the Sussex Drive-In, it was a different story.
Owner Don Monahan says business was booming last summer and they’re off to a good start again this year.
One of the advantages was viewing movies from vehicles that were parked six feet apart, “Because it was a very safe environment to view and host live entertainment and watch movies of course. We did thrive, but we also offered live entertainment in 2020. We did four live shows and that allowed us to pivot in a new direction. One of the biggest factors in 2020, was that we didn’t have any new movies. So we played a a lot of oldies and a lot of vintage and we were able to stumble along until August when we got some new content, so that was a bit of an obstacle for business.” Monahan says.
He has high hopes that the the Drive in will continue to thrive, and he believes their transition away from just movies is going to be a benefit.
“New content is being released on a weekly based, the numbers are up. Very ecstatic about the results thus far. We have had a mixed season in 2021 and we are looking forward to doing other types of activities and events. We’re definitely all about trying new things and trying to reinvent ourselves at the same time. This year, we started a few new things. We did our first antique car show, we did an antique tractor show. We had a book launch, so we are all about trying new things,” Monahan says.
Looking to the future of the Sussex Drive-In, Monahan has a vision.
“With all of the new activities, we want our location, our venue, to be viewed as a social economical hub for the community. We’re more that just about playing movies. We do live entertainment, car shows, book launches, bingo, etc. We want to continue down that path. I have some ideas and strategies once we are post COVID in 2022 to potentially bring in larger musical artists, when we are not restricted by borders or car count, so I can have a much bigger event. I have the big screen and the production crew to put up the viewing of the live event. I think we are very well poised for that. We are centrally located between Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton. It’s just about getting past COVID and finding the right artists and a couple of other elements I’d like to add to the equation as well. I’m looking to have a good event potentially in 2022 with some artists,” Monahan says.
