When Matt McClanahan and Lauren McChesney found out that their local drive-in theater was in danger of being sold to developers, they knew they had to preserve the beloved neighborhood hub — and a crucial piece of film history.
Opened by Wilson Shankweiler on April 15, 1934, Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre in Orefield, PA is the oldest operating drive-in theater in the world.
To purchase the drive-in in 2022, McClanahan and McChesney emptied their life savings and took out a $1,000,000 loan. While the couple is determined to maintain the theater’s vintage charm, they’re running it with modern sensibilities.
“Shankweiler’s was a quiet backyard theater,” McClanahan, 35, says. “It existed to play the movies for its neighborhood, and that was really it. We’re trying to elevate that and bring it to another level.”
A nighttime showing at Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre.
Today, 91 years after it opened, Shankweiler’s is still drawing crowds with new releases, community events and “the best popcorn in the Lehigh Valley,” as McClanahan says in his preshow announcement.
Tickets cost approximately $9 for children and $13 for adults, and in classic drive-in style, Shankweiler’s plays a double feature every night.
‘If not us, who else?’
Shankweiler’s has always had a special place in McClanahan’s heart: “It was a very personal connection, because I grew up coming here, so I had that drive to preserve a piece of my own childhood,” he says.
A lifelong film buff, McClanahan previously co-managed another drive-in theater, and started a mobile movie exhibition company during the pandemic.
He met McChesney, 41, at the drive-in he used to manage.
“He took my ticket, and we started dating maybe a year after that,” McChesney recalls. The couple is now engaged.
When a local newspaper reported that Shankweiler’s could be sold, McClanahan knew it was time to make a move.
“It was kind of an ‘if not us, who else?’ situation,” he says. “I had the qualifications. We had the background, we had the blueprints to redefine the business. So who else was going to do it but us?”
Lauren McChesney and Matt McClanahan.
At the time, Shankweiler’s was listed for $1.2 million, but after talking to the couple, the former owners settled on a purchase price of $1.05 million.
McClanahan and McChesney took out a $1,000,000 SBA 7 (a) small business loan, which required a down payment of around $112,000.
The owners agreed to finance part of the down payment, and McClanahan and McChesney “scrounged up” the rest of the money from their personal savings, retirement accounts, and contributions from family and friends.
“Because it’s historic, because it’s so special, there is that added pressure that we have to be successful with this.”
After the purchase, McChesney quit her job in health care to focus on reviving the theater.
“I thought it was going to feel a lot scarier to give up my previous career,” she says. “But as soon as I made that shift, it all just fell into place and made sense to me.”
Just seven days after finalizing the purchase, McClanahan and McChesney re-opened Shankweiler’s in November 2022.
For the couple, failure wasn’t an option: “Because it’s historic, because it’s so special, there is that added pressure that we have to be successful with this,” McChesney says.
Making “just enough” to keep going
While most drive-ins operate seasonally, Shankweiler’s is open 7 days a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and Thursday through Sunday the rest of the year.
“Since we had all these payments and we had to start paying our loan and we have bills, we had to be open year-round,” McChesney says.
Making ends meet the first year was “rough,” McClanahan says.
Shankweiler’s brought in around $300,000 in total revenue in 2023, and after covering all the theater’s expenses, the couple paid themselves “just enough to put groceries on the table.”
The entrance to Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre.
For most of the year, Shankweiler’s operates at a loss. The theater is typically only profitable during the summer months, McClanahan says, and their summer revenue “carries the theater for the entire rest of the year.”
July is usually their most successful month, with a total income of $122,602 last year.
Sometimes, a major hit will boost revenue during the off-season. Shankweiler’s ordinarily loses money in the winter, but the success of “Wicked” in November 2024 netted the theater $36,264 in total income for the month.
According to McClanahan, the theater’s main expense is film licensing: it comprises about a third of Shankweiler’s entire operating expenses. Other major expenses include loan payments; utilities and power; food and supplies for the snack bar; and payroll.
“You have a ton of money going in, and then a ton of money going right back out,” McClanahan says.
During the summer high season, McClanahan and McChesney hire part-time workers to operate the snack bar and ticket booth, but they still do most of the work themselves.
Shankweiler’s became profitable for the first time in 2024, with a total revenue of nearly $550,000 and a net operating income of just over $50,000 after expenses.
McClanahan and McChesney were able to pay themselves a combined salary of around $36,000 for the year.
Putting the property to work
To boost attendance during the off-season, McClanahan and McChesney have had to get creative.
For Valentine’s Day this year, Shankweiler’s offered a special “Date Night at the Drive-In” event with a screening of “The Notebook,” charcuterie boards and cocktails.
The theater’s annual Halloween trunk-or-treat event is a popular family outing with games, costume contests and sweet treats from local vendors.
“There’s a lot of things in addition to the movies that customers have to look forward to when they come to our theater,” McClanahan says. “It’s more than the movies. It’s a whole night.”
Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre sits on 4 acres of land.
The couple is working on expanding the theater’s reach by hosting daytime events like craft fairs, local markets and even car shows on the four-acre property.
Running Shankweiler’s is a “high-risk, high-reward operation,” according to McClanahan, but it’s worth it to preserve the magic of the drive-in experience.
“When the movies are playing and you’re watching hundreds of people share this amazing experience, and they’re having a great time and everyone’s happy, it’s like that weight is just lifted and you realize this is why we’re doing it,” he says. “The community is coming together in this space, and we’re facilitating something really special.”
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