Bright Leaf Drive-In, Mt. Airy, NC, 2000
150 N Andy Griffith Pky.
Closed as of March 2010, although a recent article in the Mount Airy News said there's a chance the drive-in may reopen:
www.mtairynews.com/view/full_story/9151453/article-Bright...
Bright Leaf Drive-In could live again
by Tom Joyce
When the Bright Leaf Drive-In closed in early March, movie fans around the region thought it was the sad end of an era.
However, a “sequel” with a happier plot could be in store for the fabled facility through an effort announced Friday by Mayor Deborah Cochran, which could allow the Bright Leaf to live again.
An “angel investor” has expressed an interest in buying the former theater property along U.S. 52 and facilitating its continued use as the Bright Leaf Drive-In, Cochran said during an interview. An angel investor, also known as an “informal investor,” is typically an affluent individual who provides money for a business start-up in exchange for other considerations.
In this case, the investor is seeking a qualified operator willing to lease the property and maximize its use through the reopening of the drive-in theater and development of additional facilities or events on the site.
The angel investor has not been identified, with Cochran describing him as “an out-of-town person with ties to this area.” He is working through city government in order to make the project a reality, said Cochran, whose role as mayor involves meeting with prospective business or industrial clients who are eyeing Mount Airy.
Cochran has another reason for being excited about the possible resurrection of the Bright Leaf Drive-In, where the lights went dark during the weekend of March 12 after 55 years of operation.
“I have an emotional attachment,” Cochran said of the drive-in named after this area’s traditional cash crop, tobacco, where she frequently viewed movies with her family as a child.
“When the screen faded to black ... I was inundated with telephone calls” from people around the area who were equally saddened by its demise, the mayor said. She is intrigued by the interest in the potential investor which could lead to the return of a facility that was one of the last of its kind anywhere.
The individual involved is now negotiating with a local real estate firm, Rogers Realty and Auction Co. Inc., which is representing the owner of the property. A listing on the firm’s Web site shows that an opening bid of $695,000 is sought for the 5.5-acre site of prime commercial real estate that includes a building.
Projection equipment, speakers and other movie-related fixtures have been removed from the site, but the big screen remains.
The potential investor says he must identify a qualified operator to lease the property if acquisition negotiations are successful, according to information provided by the mayor.
He has provided a list of qualifications a potential operator must offer, including:
A business plan that will maximize the use of the property, with operational plans that utilize the site for additional activities other than the drive-in encouraged;
Experience with drive-in or theater operations;
Enthusiasm for films and other performing arts;
Experience with restaurants or grills;
Event-planning skills;
A desire to be a successful business owner;
Present operation or ownership of a business or a history of this;
A good credit history.
Inquiries from prospective operators who are interested in the concept are being accepted through the city government planning department. They can either call Martin Collins, Mount Airy’s community-development coordinator, at 786-3526, or email him at mcollins@mountairy.org.
“I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for someone,” Cochran said. But she understands the need for a multi-faceted approach in using the property year-round, in addition to movie showings during the warmer months.
“It could be a combination (of operations),” she said of the variety of facilities that could result. “I think that would be up to the person.”
The mayor added, “Our world has changed — so in order to survive, you have to diversify.”
But she is hopeful that the magic of movies — and economic development — will emanate from the Bright Life as a result of the angel investor’s interest in seeking an operator.
“The people who are in that industry are extremely creative,” Cochran said.
Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.
Bright Leaf Drive-In, Mt. Airy, NC, 2000
150 N Andy Griffith Pky.
Closed as of March 2010, although a recent article in the Mount Airy News said there's a chance the drive-in may reopen:
www.mtairynews.com/view/full_story/9151453/article-Bright...
Bright Leaf Drive-In could live again
by Tom Joyce
When the Bright Leaf Drive-In closed in early March, movie fans around the region thought it was the sad end of an era.
However, a “sequel” with a happier plot could be in store for the fabled facility through an effort announced Friday by Mayor Deborah Cochran, which could allow the Bright Leaf to live again.
An “angel investor” has expressed an interest in buying the former theater property along U.S. 52 and facilitating its continued use as the Bright Leaf Drive-In, Cochran said during an interview. An angel investor, also known as an “informal investor,” is typically an affluent individual who provides money for a business start-up in exchange for other considerations.
In this case, the investor is seeking a qualified operator willing to lease the property and maximize its use through the reopening of the drive-in theater and development of additional facilities or events on the site.
The angel investor has not been identified, with Cochran describing him as “an out-of-town person with ties to this area.” He is working through city government in order to make the project a reality, said Cochran, whose role as mayor involves meeting with prospective business or industrial clients who are eyeing Mount Airy.
Cochran has another reason for being excited about the possible resurrection of the Bright Leaf Drive-In, where the lights went dark during the weekend of March 12 after 55 years of operation.
“I have an emotional attachment,” Cochran said of the drive-in named after this area’s traditional cash crop, tobacco, where she frequently viewed movies with her family as a child.
“When the screen faded to black ... I was inundated with telephone calls” from people around the area who were equally saddened by its demise, the mayor said. She is intrigued by the interest in the potential investor which could lead to the return of a facility that was one of the last of its kind anywhere.
The individual involved is now negotiating with a local real estate firm, Rogers Realty and Auction Co. Inc., which is representing the owner of the property. A listing on the firm’s Web site shows that an opening bid of $695,000 is sought for the 5.5-acre site of prime commercial real estate that includes a building.
Projection equipment, speakers and other movie-related fixtures have been removed from the site, but the big screen remains.
The potential investor says he must identify a qualified operator to lease the property if acquisition negotiations are successful, according to information provided by the mayor.
He has provided a list of qualifications a potential operator must offer, including:
A business plan that will maximize the use of the property, with operational plans that utilize the site for additional activities other than the drive-in encouraged;
Experience with drive-in or theater operations;
Enthusiasm for films and other performing arts;
Experience with restaurants or grills;
Event-planning skills;
A desire to be a successful business owner;
Present operation or ownership of a business or a history of this;
A good credit history.
Inquiries from prospective operators who are interested in the concept are being accepted through the city government planning department. They can either call Martin Collins, Mount Airy’s community-development coordinator, at 786-3526, or email him at mcollins@mountairy.org.
“I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for someone,” Cochran said. But she understands the need for a multi-faceted approach in using the property year-round, in addition to movie showings during the warmer months.
“It could be a combination (of operations),” she said of the variety of facilities that could result. “I think that would be up to the person.”
The mayor added, “Our world has changed — so in order to survive, you have to diversify.”
But she is hopeful that the magic of movies — and economic development — will emanate from the Bright Life as a result of the angel investor’s interest in seeking an operator.
“The people who are in that industry are extremely creative,” Cochran said.
Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.