Mayberry Drive-in and Diner strikes a nostalgic chord in Moneta

By Justin Faulconer

Published: October 28, 2008

MONETA — The last Sunday night in October marked several firsts for moviegoers near Smith Mountain Lake.

 
Mayberry Drive-In and Diner:
Films open at 8 p.m. Friday to Sunday through November, then start back up in the spring.
Prices are $6 for adults ($4 if you eat in the diner), $2 for ages 5 to 16 and free for children under age 5.
Location: White House Road in Moneta, close to Virginia 122.
Tip: To hear the movie, turn your radio to 88.9FM.

After sundown, 19-year-old Jerry Chisom, of Bedford County, pulled his car into a field on White House Road in Moneta to watch a movie under the stars on a 26-by-61-foot big screen. It was his first drive-in experience and also for girlfriend Jessie Baker, who said it makes her think of the 1950s and “Grease.”

Several yards away, Rachel Sigmon, of Franklin County, and her 3-year-old son Rowan were also enjoying their first drive-in movie. Tuning their radio to 88.9FM, they brought the movie sounds into their vehicle.

“This is something that we’re definitely going to enjoy doing,” Sigmon said, referring to the newly opened Mayberry Drive-In and Diner.

It took owner Bob Craig two years to develop the 3-acre site close to Virginia 122 north of the lake. His father ran a projector at a defunct Roanoke drive-in and the memories stayed with him.

Craig said he believes it’s a nostalgic piece of history that baby boomers around the lake will remember and flock to.

“We’ve been getting great feedback,” Craig said of the first two weeks of operation.

His fiancé, Kathy Gentry, handles the 1950s-style diner where tickets are purchased. It’s a labor of love, the couple said, despite the work involved.

So far family films such as “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” have played.

The operation is the first in Central Virginia in more than 20 years. The last one, the Fort Drive-In on Timberlake Road in Lynchburg, closed during the mid-1980s and now is the site of an apartment complex.

In their heyday, which most experts agree was 1958, there were almost 5,000 drive-ins in the U.S., according to Jennifer Janisch, who founded Drive-ins.com. Now there are fewer than 400 operating, nine of which are in Virginia, she said.

Janisch, a California resident, spent much time researching the industry in the 1990s. At the time, she wanted to start a drive-in with her brother.

She remembers them wearing their pajamas in the back of the car watching double features during the 1970s at a drive-in theater in Ohio. They usually fell asleep before the second feature, she said.

“As kids we didn’t think about it much,” said Janisch, who now takes her 3-year-old daughter to drive-ins. “It was just a fun thing to do. The unique thing about them is everyone is so familiar with those images, even though they haven’t been there. It has permeated our culture that we long for the simplicity of what the 1950s was about.”

Craig said the diner’s traffic has been steady but the weather hasn’t drawn as many visitors to the drive-in as he expects to see in the spring when it reopens.

Even though it’s 45 minutes from where Sigmon lives, she said it’s worth the drive because of the low prices. It’s also some-thing unique and different, Chisom said.

They said they plan to come to more shows in the spring. The family entertainment it provides is a positive for the area, said Chuck Krall, a Moneta resident.

“It’s something we’ve needed around this lake for a long time.”