Nothing says Americana quite like a drive-in movie theater. At the height of their popularity in the 1950s and ’60s, there were more than 4,000 scattered throughout the country. Now, only about 300 drive-ins remain, including the Historic Route 11 Drive-In Theatre in Stephens City, which celebrated its 70th anniversary this summer.
Blast From the Past
The theater, which previously operated as the Family Drive-In Theatre, was opened on June 14, 1956, by Jim Dalke.
The Dalke family ran multiple indoor theaters throughout the Shenandoah Valley before opening the Family Drive-In. Under the family’s management, the venue experienced the heyday of the ’50s and ’60s and an expansion to two screens in the ’80s. Along the way, it also became a community staple.
After more than five decades, the family decided to part ways with the day-to-day business of the drive-in. That’s when Jim Kopp stepped in. A frequenter of the drive-in, Kopp always told the Dalkes to give him a call if they were ever interested in leasing the property. That call finally came in 2009.
Under Kopp, the drive-in dodged extinction and turned digital, thanks in large part to community donations for new projectors. When Kopp died in 2021 due to complications from COVID-19, his children decided not to take up the business. They turned the lease over to Texas-based drive-in Moonstruck River.
On the Market
Shortly after management from Texas visited in the summer of 2025 to repair one of the screens, manager Ron Graham got some upsetting news.
“We found out that the drive-in was put up for sale from a customer,” says Graham. “She came in with tears in her eyes. … I Googled it, and I was shocked. And that’s when we were like, ‘Well, we got to try to save this place. We can’t let it go.’”
In August, the drive-in officially shared that the Dalke family had listed the property for sale for $1.5 million. The community agreed with Graham — they had to try to save the Family Drive-In.
In just two months, the drive-in raised more than $28,000 through donations and merchandise sales. Regular customers kept donating up until the business’ last days. Still, it wasn’t enough. As the business got closer to the end of its lease, hope turned into heartache.
“That was pretty devastating,” says Jeff Hamin, who had moved with his wife, Betsy, from Fredericksburg to Hampshire County, West Virginia, to be closer to the drive-in. “Our daughter just had a baby, and we were looking forward to taking our grandbaby to the drive-in and getting him that experience that we’ve always enjoyed,” Betsy says.
“From finding out that the place was up for sale, and then trying to run the fundraiser, and then coming way, way short on the fundraiser — it was disheartening,” says Graham. “We were sad. We were really shook by it.”
The Family Drive-In showed its final movie on November 30.
Back in Business
But it turned out that those months of fundraising and outreach to local news stations about the drive-in’s situation finally reached someone who could help.
In mid-December, Graham heard there was a possibility the drive-in might survive after all. And who was its savior? Come to find out, he was a local who used to watch movies there as a kid.
The new owner, who chose to remain anonymous, had recently moved back to the area from Williamsburg. He bought the property with plans to keep it as a drive-in. Once the sale was finalized at the end of February, Graham and his staff were given the keys to the property.
“We thought that we’re losing such a treasure of the area,” recalls Betsy. “Then, having it be bought and reopened — it’s been amazing.”
Nostalgic Nights
When you pull into the Historic Route 11 Drive-In, you still get that classic, midcentury feeling. Original speakers, playgrounds, and an art deco–themed concession stand take you back to when drive-in movies were the place to be.
“I can remember when I was growing up that we went to a drive-in all the time with my parents, and we loved it,” says Wanda Menefee of Warren County. “I would rather be sitting out in a drive-in like this than be in a theater anywhere.”
Some families have even taken to personalizing their drive-in experience.
“We had a family that brought the living room couch with them,” says Graham. “They took [the couch] off the back of their pickup truck and sat it right there by the tailgate, sat down like The Simpsons, and watched the biggest flat screen television you could imagine.”
Today, when movie tickets can cost upward of $17 in Virginia, a trip to the Stephens City drive-in is not only nostalgic — it can also be more affordable. Tickets are $12 per person and include access to one of the theater’s double features.
Concession serving sizes are larger than your average movie theater, and they are reasonable priced, Graham says. The profit from food and drink sales directly supports operating costs for the drive-in.
The Future of the Drive-In
With 70 years behind them, the Historic Route 11 Drive-In is looking to keep the theater open for generations to come.
“We are definitely loved by our community,” says Graham, “but we want others that haven’t been to our theater to come out and enjoy.”
If you haven’t been to the drive-in this season, don’t expect to find the avocado green and terracotta orange accents of yesteryear. A new red, white, and blue color scheme is just one of the updates made possible by the community donations. To help compete with modern indoor theaters, the drive-in also added a new online ordering system to speed up concession stand purchases.
The drive-in will also soon add another playground near screen two. Specifically built for kids ages 5 and under, the fenced-in area will include baby swings and smaller playground equipment for toddlers.
Despite the upgrades, that nostalgic feeling remains.
“If we can keep it going for generations, then I’m willing to do that,” says Graham. “I’ve always said, as long as the good Lord will let me do it, we’ll keep on doing it, because it definitely is important.”
Feature image courtesy Historic Route 11 Drive-In Theatre
This story originally ran in our August issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
