Big screen debut: McFerrins take over the Graham Drive In theater

The Graham Drive In theater is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year and with the milestone comes new owners for the Graham landmark. Chip and Brandi McFerrin, along with their four children, will officially take over operations of the theater at the beginning of April.

Owners Chip and Brandi will take the reins from Therrol and Becky DuBois who acquired the theater April 1, 2019 from Pam and Dr. David Scott.

The DuBois were looking to hand ownership to someone who had the same passion and love for theater that they share and they found that in the McFerrins.

“Therrol and Becky, they’ve always run it as a family-friendly place and that’s what we are looking for as well,” Chip said. “We have four boys. Our youngest is 8 and our oldest is 15. Just having a place that you can go to and enjoy your time together and not be worried about a whole lot is getting harder and harder to come by, so that’s what we really want.”

Therrol has over 30 years of work as a minister at First Baptist Church in Jacksboro, which is where Brandi first encountered him and his wife.

“Therrol was my youth leader growing up and (with) Becky they’ve always been just amazing role models for me,” Brandi said. “When I learned they were going to sell it, and having four boys, they were so, so excited about the idea (of us taking over).”

Becky said in a previous interview that Therrol’s work as a minister was part of the reason why they wanted to find a new owner for the theater.

“Being a minister, Sundays are important. So you’re here Saturday night until three o’clock in the morning by the time you clean up and drive home. And then you get up at 6:30 (a.m.) to get ready to get your act together at church,” Becky said. “That was beginning to wear on us. When we started it, he wasn’t 70. Now he’s over 70 and I’m really, really, really close. We’re getting older, and it’s getting harder for me, especially.”

The couple made the decision in December to post on social media their intention to sell the business and the two said they intended on making sure they make the right decision on the next owner.

“(After the announcement) my phone starts going ding, ding, ding, blink, ding. I mean, coming from all directions. I started looking and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I didn’t know what to do with them. So I have a big old tablet and I’ve gotten names and numbers and (notes with) ‘Have I talked to this one? Have I called this one?’” Becky said. “It’s going to be a process because I don’t want to just say, ‘Yeah, you can have it.’ We want it to be special to them.”

The McFerrins as a family completed their pre-season opening for the theater during spring break and are prepared to take over officially Monday, April 1. The couple said they wanted to learn the operations before making a big announcement regarding the ownership.

“Up until now we kind of kept it quiet because it’s more or less a surprise to everybody,” Chip said. “It’s going to be very interesting because we even have family members that don’t even know we’re doing this. We were waiting until we kind of had the ropes and learned it a little bit and we’re ready to go before we were really going to announce it.”

Chip is originally from Decatur and Brandi from Jacksboro. While the family is currently living in Sanger, they have already made plans to sell their home and move closer to the theater.

The McFerrin family is looking forward to the challenges and family bonding that will come with them running the theater.

“I think one of the cool things was… we got to come in here, we got to set up, we got to put the letters on the sign out front and (my oldest) just loved that. …Him and Therrol were up there putting them up and he just thought that was the coolest thing ever,” Chip said.

The goal of both of the DuBois was to make sure that the theater remained in Graham and thrived. The McFerrins want to make sure that goal is upheld with their ownership, especially with the dwindling nature of drive-in theaters.

“Unfortunately (drive-ins) are few and far between so that was part of our deal was we wanted to keep it alive for our kids and for all the communities and their kids,” Chip said. “…I am approaching the state because there are several organizations that help with restoration and so I’m hoping that we might get some grants that will help us restore some of it and bring it back to its original (condition).”

The family will fill into their respective roles at the theater as they work to maintain the nostalgia that comes with the Graham landmark.

“It just takes you back in time and gives people entertainment and a sense of community and family,” Brandi said.