LOCKPORT, N.Y. — Throughout the pandemic, businesses have been forced to think of alternative ways to stay afloat.
For the Transit Drive-In in Lockport, it includes hosting several events that aren't able to go on as normal.
No longer can you come only to see a movie. Now you can come for a wedding, graduation party, concert. On Monday night, they even had a prom.
The list goes on and on.
Owner Rick Cohen says they're so busy that the drive-in is booked through November.
"We have almost anything you can imagine that can't be done an indoor space. We have so many requests for events that I can't even keep up with," Cohen said.
That means those traditional events are going to look a little different too. For example, he says that for weddings, the wedding party stands on the roof of the snack bar, the guests all watch from their cars.
Hosting these events is one of the ways the drive-in has been forced to adapt their business during the coronavirus pandemic, while also providing a big space that allows more room for social distancing.
Right now, the drive-in is still only operating at 50% capacity and is showing older films since the movie industry has also postponed several new releases.
"We're staying open, we're staying afloat. I wouldn't say it's better. We're not going to make any records this year. We're missing the lion king. We're missing Toy Story 3. We're missing new movies where we have over 1,000 cars on the weekend and we can't put that many cars in here so we have to rely on consistency," Cohen said.
He says he's also thinking about having viewing parties for NFL and NHL games since those are still scheduled to take place this fall.