Lynchburg Coffee Shop Expands Business Outlook, Hosts Drive-In Movies
Nomad Coffee used to primarily be known for its iconic mobile trailer, usually parked outside an office building to serve workers, on LU’s campus for a game, or at a farmer’s market for Saturday shoppers. Nomad catered events—parties, weddings, benefits, festivals—providing the drinks and snacks that encouraged people to linger together.
Then came COVID-19. Couples postponed their weddings. Office workers stayed home. Revenue dried up.
Nomad co-founder Josh Davies had the idea to launch a pop-up drive-in movie theater, but the necessary equipment was not cheap. Davies realized he could either hope for enough relief funding to get by or pivot and try something new.
“I chose to just pull the trigger and make the investment,” Davies said.
On the five-year anniversary of Nomad Coffee’s founding, Nomad Movies was born.
Davies always loved the concept of projectors and drive-in movies. In college, he bought one online for $30. He said the quality was terrible, but he enjoyed the device until a friend burned it out on a mission trip. His interest in the idea continued to the present day – last Christmas, he bought his niece and nephew a portable projector.
When it came time to launch Nomad Movies, Davies found a high-quality projector, an inflatable screen, and a company that licenses movies for theaters. Nomad built longstanding partnerships with local nonprofits, so Davies reached out to The Daily Bread, Lynchburg Humane Society and others.
Nomad began showing movies in May, and most recently showed The Peanuts Movie on Friday Aug. 28 on the campus of HumanKind, a nonprofit that offers wide-ranging community support.
Nomad now has an established routine for each movie: a team of two to five people arrives about two hours early to set up shop. The team prepares the food, inflates the screen and plans parking so everyone will have a good view.
Audiences, paying $20 per carload, arrive at 8 p.m. for the 8:30 p.m. showing. Some viewers sit in the beds of their pickup trucks—one family brought a tiny Coleman stove and roasted marshmallows. In the front, viewers sit on striped picnic blankets and camp chairs. While the sun sets, spectators line up six feet apart to buy coffee drinks, popcorn, soda or candy from the Nomad truck. They return afterwards to sit in their socially-distanced groups.
Then the movie begins. The theme music starts as viewers tune their car radios to the frequency the movie is broadcasting on.
But drive-in movies are not without their hiccups.
“The weather in Lynchburg is our biggest enemy,” Davies said.
He carefully watches the radar before each showing and has canceled for rain, but even on a clear night, he cannot perfectly predict the wind. The inflated screen acts like a sail during wind gusts, and Davies has spent a few movies standing behind the screen with a Nomad manager, each pulling on an anchor rope to keep the screen still for viewers.
After the movie ends, HumanKind is left with rented portable toilets and a torn-up field, and Nomad workers might not get home until 11:30 p.m. or midnight. But Davies considers it well worth it. The movies are not just a revenue stream—they are a safe way to continue the company’s mission and cultivate community for Lynchburg residents during the pandemic.
The COVID-19 era has been difficult for many Lynchburg residents, HumanKind staffer Lauren Barnes said, with increased demand for the food pantry and financial training. HumanKind is feeling the pinch, too—the nonprofit recently cancelled fundraising event that usually brings in $60,000 due to the pandemic.
The drive-in movies provide a welcome release for community members.
“It’s many people’s first night out in a while,” Davies said.
One of his favorite memories from the viewings is the whole audience singing along to The Greatest Showman.
Although Nomad Movies will pause sometime in November when the weather gets cold, Davies plans to bring it back in the spring. He hopes Nomad Movies will be around to entertain Lynchburg residents long after the pandemic is gone.
More information about Nomad movies and tickets to the shows can be found on their website, http://www.drinknomadcoffee.com/nomadmovies.
Esther Eaton is a Feature Writer. Follow her on Twitter at @EstherJay10.