Remember the Drive-In? Satchel's Grill Fills the Void in Outdoor Film Entertainment

Summary

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During intermission, I chatted with a few customers. "Its really unique," says Matt Williams, a berry gardener from Emmett. "[Satchel]'s is the only place I know of with outdoor movies. It's cool because I can come down and see my friends." And lucky for Matt, Satchel's showed one of his favorite movies last week, Gross Pointe Blank. Tom Howard, a local student, says he comes down a lot. "Last summer, I came down every Saturday. There aren't many places where you can watch a good movie, eat good food and hang outside ... and the food here is really good!"

After Ulysses found his treasure and the mopvie ended, I was able to catch up with Satchel's owner Dominic DeLaquil to chat about the whole restaurant/movie dichotomy. "I opened Satchels grill in November of 2003 as a fulfillment of a longtime dream," said DeLaquil. "I called it Satchel's after the nickname my Italian dad dubbed me." Immediately after opening, DeLaquil gave the restaurant culture by inviting local artists to show their work on the interior walls (every month a new artist shows their work) and by booking live music. In the spring of 2004, with the inertia of a newly opened restaurant and longer days, DeLaquil looked to the walls of the roomy patio in front of Satchels and hatched a plan. He would show movies outside.

With a movie supplier in tow, Delaquil quickly cleared the other hurdles such as finding the right projector and purchasing a PA for sound. He kicked off the first weekend last June and realized he was on to something good. "Reception was great," he says of that first weekend. "People came up to me that first night saying things like, 'Thank you so much for doing this ... this is so great in Boise.'" Dominic filled up the first season with a mix of old classics and newer stuff. When the season came to a close he started working on 2005. "Every day last winter someone would come in asking about the movies and when we were going to start showing them again," says DeLaquil.

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Remember the Drive-In? Satchel's Grill Fills the Void in Outdoor Film Entertainment

One of the great summer debates is the "inside or outside" dilemma. You know, you get to your destination and then everyone's chirping, "Should we sit inside or outside?" I always choose outside. Our good friends in Hollywood would like us to believe that we should be inside, however. They want us in with the $5 licorice and frigid air conditioning." For...

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