Todd Boccabella and Terrell Braly can already see it all from the middle of this deserted plot of concrete. The ticket takers here, the food trucks over there, the stage in front, and of course the screen, the 800-square-foot projection system tall enough for everyone on the five-acre lot to see. 

Boccabella and Braly, along with Wil Riggs and Dan Bradley, are among the founding partners of Moonlite Theaters. The drive-in movie theater is moving into the vacant lot where a car dealership once stood on the corner of U.S. Highway 17 and Johnnie Dodds Boulevard down by the mouth of the Ravenel Bridge in Mount Pleasant.

The location is prime, highly visible and easily accessible. It’s been empty for years now other than hosting the occasional Christmas tree tents or fireworks stands. Moonlite Theaters has a 12-month lease. So for at least the next year, anyway, the lonely lot will host an outdoor entertainment venue that stretches well beyond the expectations of traditional theaters.

“We thought this could be huge,” Braly said. “Now with the COVID, everyone has built up cabin fever.”

“This is something this area needed,” Boccabella continued. “And right now, it’s a safe way for families to get out of the house.”

Braly’s imagination fuels the venture. He speaks quickly with excitement in his voice like a creator hurrying to get out one idea after the next. He launched a sandwich shop out of a renovated gas station in the 1970s and sold it to what later became the Quiznos franchise. He promoted concerts for some of the biggest musical acts of the ‘80s, the Beach Boys and The Eagles among them. He got into the theater business in the ‘90s, expanding a five-screen setup into a franchise that Entertainment Weekly in 2005 called “one of America’s most fanatically unique moviegoing experiences” and ranked atop its nationwide collection of 10 Theaters Doing it Right. He sold that, then helped establish the Cinnebarre cinema-eatery for which he’s known locally for bringing to Mount Pleasant. He’s since sold his stake in that too. Now he’s trying to blend the two.

“Our concept is a startup for this area,” Braly said of the upcoming drive-in. “But as far as what we’re doing, we’re the grandfathers of this industry from an outdoor entertainment destination experience standpoint.”

Braly once hosted a showing of Jaws on Lake Austin in Texas. The audience was floating on inner tubes in front of a floating screen unaware that divers were waiting under water for the opportune moment to surprise them during the screening.

He landed the world premiere of the Freddy vs. Jason horror flick in 2003. They hosted the event at midnight on a camp ground they renamed Camp Hack ‘n’ Slash. The director and producer of the movie attended along with the Entertainment Tonight television show. Braly said the movie nearly doubled expectations for its opening weekend and “they blamed us because of the publicity and excitement.”

The event did well enough that the studio sent Braly its next premiere, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, two months later. They hosted the showing at a vacant mental hospital with Jessica Biel in attendance.

“Those are the sorts of things that we’ve been able to do outdoors. We can be more creative,” Braly said. “Our coolest events have been outdoors. That’s part of the reason why we’re excited about this location.”

Boccabella will manage much of the day-to-day operations; he’s the numbers guy to keep the creativity organized. He has a finance background with experience in the entertainment industry; His wife, Norma, produced and hosted a Spanish talk show in the Dominican Republic in the ’90s.

“This is a proven concept. And from a location standpoint, it can’t get any better,” Boccabella said with a phone to his ear as he surveyed the empty lot. “The setting is absolutely top notch under any circumstances but particularly now with social distancing and people still wanting that community experience of entertainment.”

Other than pop-up events like the town has hosted this summer at Waterfront Park, there hasn’t been a drive-in theatre in Mount Pleasant the since the Seabreeze Drive-In on Coleman Boulevard that shut down as the Azalea Auto Threatre in 1957.

Boccabella and Braly have partnered on events around town in the past. They nearly opened a drive-in theatre in North Mount Pleasant. It would’ve been a permanent two-screen structure with an eatery. The location fell through not long ago. Boccabella and Braly pivoted to the old car lot.

Boccabella said it’s perfect size and works well from a logistical standpoint to move traffic in and out efficiently. The lot can hold up to 200 cars. Admission will be $30-35 per vehicle, no matter how many people are inside. It’ll open hours before show time each night as there will bands on stage, food vendors and picnic tables, and a comfort station with air conditioning and bathrooms.

“We want it to be a complete experience,” Boccabella explained. Interest from food trucks and local bands, he said, has already been huge.

Tickets will be purchased online and a QR code will be scanned for admission onto the lot to limit contact and personal interaction. The theater will feature all types of showings, some new and some classics, some themed, some seasonal, Disney movies and PG-13 rated, changing on a nightly basis.

Boccabella and Braly sound optimistic that their yearlong lease might be extended further. Whether it is or isn’t, there are still plans to build a permanent two-screen structure somewhere in town. It’s “a question of when, not if” Braly said.

One won’t affect the other, he assured. For now, the focus is establishing the one Moonlite Theaters in town.

“This is our prototype,” Boccabella said. “Our proof of concept.”

When Braly founded Cinnebarre, he only wanted them to franchise into “cool” towns. The same thinking behind opening a drive-in in Mount Pleasant.

“It’s a perfect addition to Mount Pleasant entertainment,” he says as he imagines a screen in front of him large enough that soon everyone will be able to see their vision too.