Story and Photographs by Amber Weaver
How the closest drive-in movie theater to Nashville has grown, persevered and raised a family over the past two decades
You never know when a dream will begin or where it will take you. That’s how a feature began in the July 2004 edition of The Tennessee Magazine on the Stardust Drive-In Theatre in Watertown. Some 21 years later, it is clear that the dream took the Floyd family farther than they could have ever imagined.
This is either madness or brilliance
In 1998, Barry and Dawn Floyd had a dream — a dream that risked a lot, but in the end, it was beyond rewarding.
“I was determined I was going to build a drive-in no matter what it took, even if it meant selling our house and moving to the middle of nowhere,” Barry said. “It was a big gamble, but it really paid off.”
As with any venture, it took time to become a success. The Floyds, who live in the Middle Tennessee Electric service area, purchased 15 acres in the Watertown Industrial Park and broke ground in February 2003. With their 1960 model Simplex projector that came out of the old Woodzo Drive-In in Newport, the couple had their first movie showing that summer. It was a Wednesday night, but you wouldn’t have known it by the number of people who showed up to see “Grease.” That Friday, the Stardust Drive-In had its official grand opening with the two biggest movies of the summer.
“We sold out 300 cars 14 nights in a row for ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’” Barry said. “I looked at Dawn and said, ‘Look what we have done.’”
The drive-in business hasn’t always been easy, though. In fact, two weeks after they opened and the Floyds changed what was on the screen, they went from 300 cars a night to 30 cars.
“The first couple of years were rough,” Barry said.
On top of movie flops, the couple also faced enormous mortgage payments and bills. Unfortunately, what they projected to earn was nowhere near what they actually brought in. It took adding the second screen in 2005 to really get things going.
Just keep swimming
As one could imagine, many things have changed since the first carload pulled up to watch Marlin and Dory set out on their quest to find Nemo. Where moviegoers purchase their buttery popcorn, ice cold drinks and sweet treats was remodeled in 2012.
The second screen started off with a 1947 model Brenkert that came out of the old Sumner DriveIn in Gallatin. The last movie shown on that projector before everything switched from 35-millimeter projection to digital in 2013 was “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2” In 2016, the Stardust Drive-In changed to satellite delivery for receiving movies.
“That switch was a huge deal for us,” Barry said. “Satellite delivery costs about half of what the old way of getting the movies here did, and we get them about a week before everyone else does.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is how Barry and Dawn share the workload. On top of their daytime jobs, Barry handles everything with the projectors and upkeep of the grounds. Dawn oversees billing and keeping items in stock. When the drive-in is open seven nights a week during the summer, they both work five nights and get two nights off.
“I wanted to see if this would work, and it did. But it wouldn’t have without her,” Barry said. “Anytime the doors have been open, either Dawn or I are here. We share these responsibilities together.”
It runs in my family … at least I think it does
There are three others in the family who share the responsibilities too. Barry and Dawn have three sons: Christopher, Wesley and Joshua. All three have earned the title of “drive-in kids,” and they wouldn’t want it any other way.
Joshua is the youngest of the three and is heading off to college this fall. He was born after the Stardust DriveIn was built and doesn’t know a life without it.
“I probably made the most money out of any middle schooler ever,” Joshua shared as the entire family laughed. “In all seriousness, though, this has taught me how to work for things and save money. It has been a great learning experience.”
Christopher and Wesley were just toddlers when their parents started the drive-in. Wesley is the middle son and likes to think of himself as the drive-in mascot.
“There’s a picture of little me perched on the trash can right there, watching a movie,” Wesley shared with a smile. “This has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I know I will never meet another kid my age who grew up around this. No one gets to say that other than us three.”
As for Christopher, the oldest son, he broke down in tears sharing what he has gained from being a “drive-in kid.”
“This place truly changed my life,” Christopher said.
Growing up, Christopher always had a hand in production support and has been the go-to person at Stardust for years. In 2020, those skills and interactions led him to a fulfilling career in the concert entertainment industry.
“He wouldn’t be where he is today if it weren’t for the connections made here during the pandemic,” Dawn said with tears in her eyes.
Rockin’ and rollin’ and whatnot
The year 2020 was not only a gamechanger for Christopher but also for the entire operation — and not in the way you would think.
“Anytime your kids can chase their dreams and achieve it, that’s worth it all,” Barry said. “2020 here at the drive-in kickstarted all of it for Christopher and changed us for the better.”
The Stardust Drive-In opened in March 2020 as it normally would. However, on April 1, it had to shut down due to the pandemic. Restaurants were able to stay open, though. So the Floyd family transitioned their entire menu to an online platform, and customers were able to order meals online. The employees would then run the orders out to their cars. A profit was not made during this time, but it provided for the family of drive-in workers.
“(Dawn and I) walk up and down these gravel driveways. We see the lights reflecting off people’s faces and hear the kids laughing. This is still a big deal for us — that we have built something that families can come to and enjoy.”
– Barry Floyd
During that time, the Floyd family was contacted by Live Nation about holding drive-in concerts.
“The first live concert was incredible,” Barry said.
The Keith Urban concert was a secret, though, until it was all said and done.
“The next morning, we were everywhere,” Barry said. “I had friends in Australia who called and told us we were on TV. From that, everything went berserk.”
The Floyds then were in contact with a Christian music concert promoter, and the first concert with them was Toby Mac with 2,400 people in attendance. Both screens were completely sold out.
“We did concerts all summer long,” Barry said. “What was neat about the concerts was that it brought people out who had never been here before, people who didn’t even know we were here, and those people have kept coming back ever since.”
Not all treasure’s silver and gold, mate
As things have settled down and returned to normal, the Floyd family is taking the time to reflect on how far this drive-in dream has taken them.
“We have ended up being the highest-grossing drive-in in the state of Tennessee,” Barry said. “There’s no one else that comes even close to what we do.”
The joy that the family has brought to the Watertown community and beyond, though, is what really matters to the Floyds.
“Once the movies get started and everything is, as we say, ‘tucked in’ Dawn and I go for walks,” Barry said. “We walk up and down these gravel driveways. We see the lights reflecting off people’s faces and hear the kids laughing. This is still a big deal for us — that we have built something that families can come to and enjoy.”
