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To whom it may concern,
My wife and I will be retiring soon and have begun looking into the possible purchase of The Tower Drive-In Theatre located in Rule,Texas.
It is a single screen theatre in a small rural community. Our concern is this: Will or can it be a viable business? Can we support ourselves operating a theatre in this location and economy? Any feedback from any source will be joyously anticipated.
Yours truly,
Vincent & Cheryl Wilson

Hello Vincent and Cheryl:

I looked at the DI on google. It appears it may need some work. You may do well as a part-time operation (say Thursday through Sunday). In the summer you may be able to go full-time. If I were doing it I would add a children's playground, eventually fence the entire thing (with something other than the wire that's up now) and replace the wired speakers with an fm transmitter (if it doesn't have one now. There doesn't appear to be much (if any) ramping. I'd change that. You'll need to promote in other nearby towns (there's one about 10 miles away). Consider also daytime uses for the lot (flea markets, etc.). I don't think you'll get rich but you should be able to make a living.

It seems to me you left out a key piece of information. What will your mortgage/lease payment be? It makes a big difference if your monthly payment is $1000. or $25,000...

Vincent, I would not even consider opening or taking over a drive-in right now unless it had really good grosses (concession and box) and possibly some other form of income. Sometime in the near future it will be nessessary to upgrade to digital projection which may cost over 100k.

Upon the original discovery of a drive-in theatre for sale, we have now found several others. Most interesting is The Town and Country belonging to Mr. Ray Andrews or Anders,I was unable to hear the name properly. I am told it is a multi-screen outdoor theatre in Abilene and near Interstate 20, and within our cash reserves on the price at only $1 million. Please,again, I request any suggestions before negotiations begin. My wife has insisted that I tone down my temperment, so each item received will be scrutinized carefully before any response. I am also led to believe that fees charged for consulting are a common practice even in the smaller businesses.
More Later, Vincent