Two great Texas photo albums

Coyote Drive-In logo on woodHere’s an odd case. This past week, I’ve run across two stories about drive-ins in Texas. Each story is brief and unremarkable, but each also includes an excellent photo gallery.

Over at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, they ran a story about the soft opening of the Coyote Drive-In there. It’s wonderful news to hear about a brand-new drive-in theater, but there weren’t a lot of new details except that only about 150 cars were allowed in what will be a 1300-car, three-screen complex. But check out that album of a dozen photos, especially #2 with the downtown skyline behind the screen.

Meanwhile at the San Antonio Express-News, what’s cool is the soft opening of the sort-of drive-in at the site of the old Mission Drive-In. (I already told you why I care so much about this one.) The Express-News had a decent story about it, but what was really great was that it offered a 30-photo journey into the history of the Mission. Photo #10 matches how I remember it. Go see for yourself!

Update: The Dallas Morning News added a lengthy story about the opening of the Coyote, and it included this video. Enjoy! (Edit: I used to have the video embedded below, but the darned thing would auto-start whenever this page was loaded. Don’t ya just hate it when that happens?)Placeholder linking to video of the Coyote Drive-In

Outside food: feature or menace?

Popcorn machine

© Depositphotos.com / SanHe83

I was doing my usual web prowl, searching for fun stuff and news to share here. I stumbled on the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In (Austin TX), and first of all, I’m unclear whether it “counts” as a real drive-in. As I mentioned a while ago, there are lots of things that aren’t drive-ins that pretend to be drive-ins, and I don’t like to talk about them. Is the Blue Starlite a real drive-in? Is it a worthy facsimile? I’ll have to return to that question in a later post.

When I visited the Blue Starlite web site, I found a quote that inspired me to write down something that’s been bouncing around in my head. On the Blue Starlite FAQ page is the question: “can I bring my own food and drink?” If I were feeling fussy, my reply would be that it’s likely that you have that ability, but perhaps you’d prefer to ask whether you may bring your own food and drink.

But the Blue Starlite FAQ answer is much nicer. “Yes. We don’t like to limit our customers options and enjoyment. As well as their creativity. However we do ask that you patronize our concession stand as well at least for your popcorn, candy and soda’s (sic) if you do not buy a concession package in advance. It really does help support our ability to keep bringing you quality nights of entertainment as only the drive-in can in Austin TX.”

That’s beautiful. I know that when I go to the drive-in, which is as often as I can, I love to bring food and sometimes something to drink. It’s a great benefit and incentive that I can create my own experience in my car while I watch the movie. But I would never visit without buying at least a large soda and a large popcorn from the concession stand. The incremental cost of a large soda is maybe a nickel, and the popcorn probably costs a dime or two, so I figure my cash should go straight to the operator’s payroll and profit.

I’ll make some enemies for saying this, but hey you drive-in operators, instead of treating customers as thieves and cheats for wanting to bring in the food they like, maybe you should look to your own kitchen to make sure you’re cooking something they want. It’s a good idea to explain the economics of running a drive-in as you encourage patrons to buy your food, and if you give your customers a good alternative, your convenience (and sufficient quality) should win their dollars more often than not. The Blue Starlite gets it, and you should too.

Coyote Drive-In almost ready to open


Oh boy! The only thing better than a story about the opening of a brand-new drive-in theater is having some nice video of it to embed for you.

NBCDFW (secretly KXAS-TV), Fort Worth TX’s news leader, ran a fine little story about the construction work that’s nearly completed for the Coyote Drive-In just north of downtown. Two of its three screens are in place, its food pavilion is almost done, and earth movers are ripping out debris that would get in the way of driving and parking and watching movies. If that sounds a little familiar, it’s because we mentioned the Coyote here a few months ago.

But don’t take my word for it. If you want to read what’s pretty much a transcription of the story, head over to the NBCDFW site. But I think you’ll be better off just watching that great two minutes of video. If it doesn’t bring a smile to your face, you’re not a drive-in fan.