JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Many businesses have reinvented themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic to stay afloat, and the owners of Sun-Ray Cinema have gone above and beyond that calling.
After temporarily closing during the pandemic, owners Shana David-Massett and her husband Tim expanded from their brick-and-mortar cinema to a drive-in and a pizza shop in Jacksonville.
“Going into 2020 we were really expanding. When COVID hit, we said, ‘Oh, so we don’t get to expand now?’ This is not okay,” David-Massett said.
At the drive-in on Willowbranch Avenue, their large screen and portable control room were built by Disney Imagineers to bring the drive-in into the 21st century.
“I’ll tell you, it feels like Disneyland out in this parking lot every single show,” David-Massett said.
Many wonder what made David-Massett bold enough to start a new business in, what some would call, a dying industry.
David-Masset said there may not have been a better time to expand than in a pandemic, where people feel safe watching movies from their cars.
“The level of service we’re providing with parking, concessions, and in the quality of the picture and the sound, they are blown away,” David-Massett said.
This is what David-Massett said keeps their customers coming back for more.
“It’s just the best,” David Massett said.