Looking for a laugh? Greeley’s Syntax Distillery has you covered with drive-in comedy shows throughout May
Syntax Spirits Distillery will host drive-in comedy shows every Saturday in May. Photo by Kelly Ragan.
Heather Bean knows that by now, we all need a laugh.
That’s why Bean, co-owner of Syntax Spirits Distillery, is opening up the Syntax parking lot to a drive-in comedy show this Saturday.
“Come have a good time, have some laughs,” Bean said. “As much as you might love the people you may be stuck with – I’m sorry, but we’re all getting a little tired by now.”
Folks can watch the live comedy show, starting at 8 p.m., from their cars by tuning into a radio station.
Syntax will also sell to-go cocktails from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Bean said she hoped to do a kind of car hop service and serve drinks to people in their cars, but to err on the side of caution (and avoid a potentially big fine if it turned out she read the regulations wrong) they’ll stick to serving a limited menu before the show starts.
Tobias Livingston is the comic behind the idea. He tried the drive-in concept out in Fort Collins before stay-at-home orders went into effect.
“People loved it, so it’s tested,” Livingston said.
Livingston is a live audience guy. Zoom, he said, just can’t replace what it feels like to interact with the crowd in person, even if it’s from a distance.
To do drive-in shows, he picks a fuzzy spot on the radio and sets up his system, which, he assured the NoCo Optimist, is FCC legal. He’ll have a chalkboard set up to tell folks what radio station to turn to. Livingston warned his content may not be family friendly.
“Laughs and applause will look like honking and flashing headlights,” Livingston said. “We’re all coming together and staying apart, safely.”
Syntax will host the comedy show every Saturday throughout May.
Until now, Bean said, she hadn’t put much stock into selling cocktails to-go as part of her business model.
She focused on selling bottles and continuing to work on renovations to the building. About one customer came by each day to buy a bottle, she said, flashing their ID at her through the window. She’d then set the bottle outside, wearing gloves as she did it.
“We underestimated how many people would be into to-go cocktails,” Bean said with a laugh.
She heard from some of her distiller friends they’ve had quite a lot of success.
But her focus has been on using the downtime to get the building in shape. The good news, she said, is that she’s used to being closed and living on the cheap. She didn’t take out huge loans to finance the remodel and isn’t at risk of losing the business, she said.
But there’s no denying the shutdown’s had an impact.
That’s why the comedy show sounded like such a great idea.
“We’re not going to make piles of coin off this,” Bean said. “We probably won’t make much at all, but we’ll see people laughing.”
What to know before you go
Where: Syntax Spirits Distillery, 700 6th St.
When: Buy to-go cocktails from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Comedy show begins at 8 p.m.
Cost: There is a $10 cover or a cost of $20 per car.
For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/syntaxspirits/.