LoCo Drive-In Permanently Closes

The LoCo Drive-In in Loudon announced it would be permanently closing on March 26 — bringing an end to four years of business in the community.

The move was announced via Facebook, where the venue bid farewell to the Loudon County community and the memories made within it.

“Thank you for your support over the past several years,” said the LoCo Drive-In via Facebook. “We are sad to announce that the LoCo Drive-in is permanently closing. We have had so much fun with you all, whether you came just once or lots of times.

“We’d like to give a special shout-out to our sweet staff, loyal customers and vendors. We are grateful for the adventure!”

In an interview with The Connection, Jacob Nelson, a representative from LoCo Drive-In, said he and the team were taken aback by the reaction local officials gave to their business operations.

“It was a surprise in the fact that [County Commission] tried to portray us in a way that we were trying to pull a fast one over them in terms of our event schedule and how we were going to operate,” said Nelson.

Nelson continued by stating that the owner of the Drive-In presented the business model to commissioners, as well as a tentative event layout, which Nelson said the venue stayed true to.

While no specific reason was given for the venue’s closing, their initial post was followed by a link to a Loudon County Commission meeting from May 2024. In the meeting, Commissioners discussed noise complaints coming from the First District on evenings that the drive-in would host events.

The complaints, however, weren’t due to film screenings of viewing of football games, but rather community gatherings hosted by the venue.

“Let’s be as culturally sensitive as we can be and say what they’re sold as: Mexican rodeos,” Commissioner Van Shaver said in May’s County Commission meeting. “All the ads are in Spanish, that’s who attends it, there’s no animals. It’s a big drinking and dance party is what it is.”

While alternatives and solutions to the issue were discussed on a county level, Commissioner Chase Randolph, who presides over the first district, said it was ultimately up to the City of Loudon on how to handle the problem.

“Loudon County has zero jurisdiction with the LoCo Drive-In,” Randolph said in an interview with The News-Herald. “As far as, we didn’t shut them down in any type of way. Loudon County does not have a noise ordinance.”

While there was expressed intent from several Commissioners to shut the venue down, or at least find a solution to the noise, Randolph added that he didn’t think any decision made by him or his constituents was the deciding factor in their decision.

“I think it was a failed business model,” Randolph said. “Not being able to show new-release movies I think played a large role in it.”

Nelson also acknowledged that an underlying factor for the lack of success was due to the drive-ins inability to show new releases. In the fall of 2024, the only events hosted by the drive-in were showings of University of Tennessee football games.

“I think people are sad to see it leave, and probably confused due to some misleading information on why it closed,” Randolph said.