As far as one local couple is concerned, Goochland County is ready for Hollywood.

Sandy Hook residents John and Kristina Heidel are looking for a place to build a drive-in theater where patrons could once again see movies on a giant screen from their cars.

They need a place where there's no ambient commercial lighting and remote enough not to disturb neighbors. They went before the Goochland Board of Supervisors this week to ask about getting a special-use permit for land not zoned commercial.

During a workshop Tuesday preceding their regular meeting, supervisors told the couple to first find land for county planners to consider.

John Heidel believes the idea suits Goochland's desire to remain rural.

"There's always room for a drive-in -- especially out in a rural county," he said. "It has a certain appeal to it."

At 39, Heidel and his wife are just old enough to remember driving up to a speaker mounted on a pole to watch double features from their cars.

As movie lovers, they've tried with all due parental patience to take their two small children to cinemas. They either fell asleep or jumped around in their chairs. The experience helped make the couple nostalgic for the old days, when parents could deal with the kids inside their vehicles.

The drive-in is a piece of Americana lost to multiplexes and sprawl, but one that's worth reviving, given the right conditions, they said.

"Now that we have children of our own, it's hard to find good entertainment that's wholesome," John Heidel said. "At a drive-in, you can get two movies for less than one at the mall."

The couple hasn't decided on prices, but the idea is to charge by the carload.

They envision 1950s and '60s styling with modern video and audio equipment. Instead of just popcorn and nachos, concessions also could come off a grill and out of a deep fryer.

The multiplexes offer a wide variety of choices, air conditioning and shelter from the elements year-round. The drive-in would operate only during the warmer months and would favor good weather.

Still, Kristina Heidel said the experience could be bigger than just the movie.

"A lot of families go an hour or two early and have supper," she said. The Goochland drive-in might even include a playground to run some energy out of the kids before the feature, they said.

John Heidel, an enthusiast of old Volkswagens, said the drive-in could host antique car shows when not showing movies.

They've targeted next spring as a hoped-for opening for the first double feature.
Contact staff writer Calvin R. Trice at (540) 932-3674 or ctrice@timesdispatch.com.