APRIL: Welcome to Fanatical DreamHer on this episode. I am excited to spend time with Abby Steele, the owner of Co-Ed Cinema in historic Brevard, North Carolina. Welcome to Fanatical DreamHer, the podcast that celebrates the unstoppable spirit of women who dare to dream big and make those dreams a reality.

APRIL: I'm your host April Kemp and each week I have the honor of sitting down with incredible women of all ages who have faced challenges head on and emerged victorious. Through their stories of resilience, passion, and triumph, I hope you'll find the spark to ignite your own journey. This is your time.

APRIL: Let's dream, believe, and achieve together. Abby, I'm glad we're taking the time we get to hear about your dream.

ABBY: Well, thank you for taking the time to interview me April, it's been a long time coming.

APRIL: Well, I wanted to let our audience know that I met Abby many years ago in Brevard. I was blessed to be able to see a movie in her incredible theater. Many of our listeners know Tim and I were movie critics, still are for a long time.

APRIL: And we were enchanted with this theater and I pushed to find Abby and I heard her story and it has stuck with me ever since. Abby, why don't we start with telling everybody about how you jumped into your dream, how old you were and the whys of why you did it.

ABBY: Well, yeah. I was 17. I had my first job.

ABBY: I really, really wanted to work at the movie theater and I had applied there a couple times and I didn't get the job for whatever reason. I guess it was just not the time. But I think it was the third time I applied and I did I finally got the job.

ABBY: I guess it was third times the charm. But then I worked there for a couple of years. And the owner was looking to get out of the theater business and I guess it was just time, place.

APRIL: You are 17.

ABBY: Yeah, when I first started working there, I had just turned 17.

APRIL: Oh my goodness. how old were you when it was official?

ABBY: I signed the paperwork on September 1st of 2015, and I was 19 years old.

APRIL: My goodness, and a movie theater owner.

ABBY: Yeah, it was a huge leap and honestly something it wasn't even really ready for, I think.

APRIL: Well, you did it. That is fantastic. All right.

APRIL: you jumped in. You bought this incredible historical theater. And tell us about did you always love movies?

APRIL: How did your passion influence this journey?

ABBY: Yeah, as long as I can remember, honestly, I've been passionate about movies. Some of my earliest memories are my parents taking me to the movies. I would want to say it was mostly kids movies, but it wasn't.

ABBY: We went to see everything under the sun, just going to the movies and those stories sticking with me was always something I was passionate about, I think.

APRIL: How did pursuing this dream, how did this change you personally? you bought this theater, I can only imagine all the different aspects of building this business. How did it change you personally along the way?

ABBY: Yeah, I went through a lot of changes. I think even just being a 19 year old at the time, I was already going through a lot of changes, but I think I got more practical and I learned a lot about, how to deal with disappointment and, the practicality of making certain things work. And, geez, just changed in every way, honestly.

ABBY: It was such a growth moment for me.

APRIL: I love that. Tell us as well what were the hardest moments, the obstacles, but I also want to know what were the success milestones along the way. both the positive and the harder parts.

ABBY: Yeah, there's there's been a fair amount of both. just getting into the swing of things in the beginning was such a such a big pivotal moment. And just learning everything I just threw in at the deep end and learning everything learning how to secure movies and, learning what people wanted.

ABBY: And I think, I don't know if I would really call it a success moment, but it was more of a learning curve and it happened over years. But yeah, that I consider that a great success is, just learning how to swim. But there's, there's been some good milestones as well.

ABBY: I think last year, my husband and I, we were able to pay off the business. And I think that was maybe one of my biggest milestones for sure.

APRIL: Oh, Abby, congratulations. What a huge accomplishment.

ABBY: Yeah, absolutely. I had And you made it through COVID.

APRIL: too.

ABBY: Yes, yeah, that was, that's another big milestone I can probably claim is making it through that as a, as a small business, it, everybody was hurting. And it, it wasn't special for us, everybody else was going through that as well. But just making it through that.

ABBY: And, there were times when I was Oh, what, this is, this is it, we're gonna have to close the doors for good. But, we made it through we, we were closed for nine months. And yeah, that was, it was tough.

APRIL: Nine months is a long time without revenue.

ABBY: Yeah. Yeah, it sure is. But you didn't.

APRIL: Yeah. Tell us about the moment because my audience always ask over and over again, they love this question, but when was the moment that you realized you could make this happen? Because you've done it year after year, but I'm always curious about that moment.

ABBY: Yeah, I, for me, I don't know if there was ever that lightning moment of this is, I can do this. It was, it was more of a gradual incline. And I know that's not as exciting to say, but it, it was more of a there was panic at the beginning.

ABBY: And many moments of oh my gosh, what have I done? And, it was more of a gradual ironing out of, what, no, I think I can do this. And I think, I think this is going to work.

ABBY: And it was, it was more of a, more of a bell curve, maybe.

APRIL: Oh, goodness. How was it in a leadership position that young?

ABBY: That was, that was another one of the learning curves for a long time. I had, I had been a manager there and, suddenly stepping into a leadership role of my coworkers. And, they didn't believe me at first.

ABBY: I, the, the previous owner wanted to keep it low, he was just wanting to quietly retire and get out and the day I signed the paperwork I told all of my employees, my employees now, and they didn't believe me. And I just jokingly, I was well, here's my bill of sale. I guess I have to prove it.

ABBY: But that, that was such a, such a different moment. It was very surreal.

APRIL: I love it. Well, tell us, well, we have to ask this too. What's your favorite movie?

APRIL: we're huge movie buffs, but what's your favorite?

ABBY: It's, I'm sure everybody says that when they ask that question, but I have a lot of favorite movies. But the one that keeps coming back to mind, I don't know, it's, it's the secret life of Walter Mitty. It was I think it was 2014 or so.

ABBY: It was written, directed, acted by Ben Stiller. And it was just it. It's such a good movie.

ABBY: And it's every part of it, honestly, the storytelling and the acting and the cinematography, everything about it just sticks in my mind. And I think I saw it when I was maybe 16, something around there. And I think I went to see it in the theater four or five times, my family would go and see other movies.

ABBY: And I just kept going back and seeing it over and over and over again.

APRIL: What a good choice, that's an exceptional movie.

ABBY: It really is.

APRIL: Tell us about your go-to self-talk. you had many wins but I know there were many tough days as you bought this business and young and then you've grown and grown. What's your go-to self-talk?

APRIL: The message that you tell yourself on tough days.

ABBY: Ah, man. I've never been a big self-talker and it's something that my husband gives me a lot of flack for. I'm not a super positive oh, you can do this girl person.

ABBY: But I think my method is more just buckle down, think about nothing but what we're trying to get through and then just push through it and then afterwards I can look back and be what? That was pretty good. Haha.

APRIL: Do you have a favorite quote?

ABBY: Oh, that's that's another question, just what's your favorite movie? It's it's such a hard thing to narrow down. I think it is.

ABBY: Maybe one that I that I always keep coming back to is how does it go? It goes, life is hard, my dear, but are you. Oh, I love that.

ABBY: That's that's a classic one. Yeah.

APRIL: Yeah. That is a very good one. All right.

APRIL: here's another question that listeners just, they, they enjoy hearing the answer to. What thoughts ran through your mind on the first day you stepped into this dream? Okay.

APRIL: I love the response to your coworkers, but that is hilarious. But let's talk about the first day. Okay.

APRIL: You're stepping in. This is it. Do you remember the thoughts that ran through your mind?

ABBY: Yeah. Oh man. Mostly panic, I would say.

ABBY: There was, the moments leading up to it was just what, I have a checklist to do. I have to make an LLC. I have to, I have to do all these things, sign all this paperwork.

ABBY: And then the day of it was oh man, I can't go back now. This is, this is happening. And I was meeting the city officials to sign my lease.

ABBY: And I was, signing the paperwork and money was exchanged hands. And it was just who, this is really happening.

APRIL: Well, I just love it. It is such a special theater. And I want to point out in Brevard, obviously the waterfalls.

APRIL: Brevard is the waterfall capital of the world. It's absolutely gorgeous in your theater. For anyone, even remotely nearby, they need to see a movie in it.

APRIL: It's just magical. What do you want to say about your special theater?

ABBY: Oh, man, I have much to say about my theater. It's been a special place for many people. And one of my favorite aspects of working there and owning it is the generations of people that have come through the doors.

ABBY: It's been open since 1939. several generations have grown up going to this movie theater and people will come and they'll tell me about how their grandparents had their first date there, or I don't know, they saw their best, their favorite movie ever there, or they saw Jaws, or I just get nonstop stories of, how special this place has been to many generations of people. And I think that's what makes it magical to me is what it means to people.

ABBY: It means a lot to me personally, of course, but it means a lot to everyone who's been through the doors. And I think that's that's really what makes it special.

APRIL: Well, and I think I've I've told you this before, but Tim and I have seen movies and movie theaters all over. even internationally, we're obsessed. And it is one of if I only could pick three, Abby, your theater would be one of them.

APRIL: It's just you walk in, you sit down and you go back in time to truly do it just it feels. And of course, we won't get going on your popcorn because it's delicious. Oh, it is.

APRIL: Yes. But I just I want our listeners and everyone to know that, if you're visiting Hendersonville, if you're visiting Ashford, if you're anywhere near Brevard, you need to make it a point. It's a great city.

APRIL: But this movie theater is very special. I just keep thinking about that. Tell us what advice would you give a young person following a similar dream?

APRIL: there's a lot of people that write movies, a lot of people that love movies. There's actors acting. But what advice would you give to someone that wants to own a movie theater?

ABBY: I would have probably a dissertation to tell you before you get into it, but maybe the biggest piece of advice I think that I've learned is take constructive criticism and listen to what people are telling you, but phase out the bad stuff. There's going to be some bad stuff that might be constructive, but everybody's got something to say and sometimes it's helpful and sometimes it's not, but learning to filter that is probably the biggest piece of advice I would give a young person or honestly anybody who's just getting into business for the first time. It's not for everyone and it's a hard thing to do, but it's absolutely worth it.

APRIL: Oh Abby, I think that's fantastic advice. Let's talk about I've never met a dreamer yet anywhere ever that didn't think outside the box to achieve their dream and their goals associated with it. How did you have to think outside of the box?

ABBY: Oh, I, I honestly think as somebody who runs their own business, you have to think outside the box every single day. It's anything from repairs to fixing a problem with the studios or, even everything down to is you've got a customer who didn't the drink you gave them. And you have to learn how to improvise.

ABBY: I think that's probably the biggest way to think outside the box, but yeah, anything. One of my favorite examples I think would probably be we had our popcorn machine has this stir stick in it and it broke one time. It's the steel shaft and it broke in half.

ABBY: And we were just I don't know what to do about this and we can't make popcorn our most most demanded thing. And my dad and my husband went over to Lowe's and they bought a piece of metal and they were in the Lowe's parking lot, drilling a hole through, through this steel pipe. And then they were just, we had to make one on hand.

ABBY: And this, there's many examples that, but that keeps coming back to my mind of just you just got to get whatever you got to get it done. And you have to be able to think outside the box.

APRIL: Oh goodness gracious. Okay, that creates a smile thinking of them doing that. Tell us a little bit about events.

APRIL: What does the Co-Ed Cinema, what do you offer from parties to events? And tell us a little more about your amazing theater.

ABBY: Yeah. we do private events. We're just getting back into the swing of things after COVID.

ABBY: Some of the rules changed for renting out a theater and some of that. we're just getting back into renting out the theater, but we do events. And if it's an independent movie, if it's something that you've made, we can absolutely turn it into something that we can play on our screen.

ABBY: And we've done a couple test runs far. We're still ironing out the cracks, but a friend of mine did a mountain bike film and it was fantastic. He had a great crowd and it's great to see independent film that.

ABBY: And everyone loves the big budget stuff. Everyone loves the blockbusters, but when you get people from your own community making small films and those kinds of things, it feels good. It feels you see the people on the screen and that's really, really cool.

ABBY: it's something we're trying to expand upon slowly, but yeah, it's been really cool. And we have all of our information on our website too, if anyone wants to look at it. But yeah, it's a new venture for us.

APRIL: Well, that is great. Go ahead and give your website for sure.

ABBY: yeah, it's coedcinema. com. Yeah, everything is there.

ABBY: We have a social media presence as well. It's Facebook and Instagram, just coedcinema. And social media, it's something that I'm still figuring out.

ABBY: leave mind the gaps, we'll say

APRIL: Well, definitely I think that connection within community is a big I think the reason your theater has been successful. We could feel it when we were there and people everywhere we were said, have you gone to the theater? great.

APRIL: Yeah. But I'm really proud of everything that you've built and how young you claimed your dream. I think that will inspire many.

APRIL: But I want to ask you, I know you do one movie at a time. Right. How do you pick your movie?

ABBY: Oh, this is, it's a question I get all the time. I honestly, I mostly base my choices on what people are telling me they want to see. I get a lot of requests and sometimes it's stuff we can get and sometimes it's not.

ABBY: Or maybe it's just something that doesn't work out. But I would say I do a lot of research. I do, I'm always with my ear to the ground of what are people saying about these movies?

ABBY: is it gonna fit my audience, my demographic? And I'm constantly researching things and it's something I enjoy too. it's, it doesn't always feel work.

ABBY: But yeah, I just, I know my audience at this point and I'm 10 years in now. I know what they want and I know what they don't want. I've had a couple of those before as well.

ABBY: But I really just listen to what the people are telling me they want to see. And then of course there's the aspect of, the revenue is important as well. Absolutely.

ABBY: Yeah, it's a juggling act of, what's gonna bring in the amount of revenue and what the people want.

APRIL: Fantastic. Well, I can't say enough about the Coed cinema slash theater. We just loved it.

APRIL: And I've had friends that have been back after us that talk about that. There's a special feeling. Yes.

APRIL: And your story with it, I think, ties it up in such a nice bow. I want to thank you much, Abby Steele. And congratulations to what you bought, what you built.

APRIL: And the fact that you continue to dream. I think that's the name of the game for everyone in life, but also your employees. I think of what a blessing it is.

APRIL: They get to have known your story and watch you every day.

ABBY: Yeah, absolutely. I think some days better than others. But yeah, we all we all work really well together.

ABBY: And I hope that not necessarily that I can inspire people, but people are inspiring to me. And I think it's just a, it's a nice environment. It's it's nice to be around good people.

ABBY: And it's, it's hopefully rubbing off.

APRIL: Absolutely. Abby, this has been such a pleasure for me, meeting you several years ago, even when you were much younger than now. It's just, I'm glad that we've kept up and we are, Tim and I both are very proud of everything you've built with this dream.

APRIL: And thank you for being a guest on Fanatical DreamHer, it means a lot to me. And I can't say enough about your theater, if anyone's even around Brevard, North Carolina, you need to, yes, the waterfalls are fantastic, but you need to get to the co-ed cinema. Absolutely.

APRIL: Come on by. Absolutely. Thank you much.

APRIL: And I look forward to seeing you soon. I want to thank our listeners, stay happy, stay healthy. And if you can definitely do a shout out, give us a review on Apple, and also keep telling your friends and your family, we are growing crazy.

APRIL: And I appreciate y'all much. Thank you much for joining us. And always remember, keep dreaming and never forget the world always makes way for the dreamer.

APRIL: We'll see you next time.