Video: Jesup Drive-In reopens after hurricane damage

Last fall, Hurricane Helene mangled the tin fences and dented both screens at the Jesup Twin Drive-In Theatre in Jesup GA. After $350,000 in repairs, the Jesup is reopening for a couple of community days March 14-15, followed by a grand reopening the following weekend.

That’s all according to a report by WTOC, the Southeast News Leader. (Yes, I know that I claim that every TV station with a drive-in story is its local News Leader; WTOC really means it. But I digress.)

Jesup Drive-In owner Ralph Hickox, who also happened to be mayor of the city of Jesup, told WTOC that his main reason for rebuilding was because of what the drive-in means to the locals. “The love of the community and what it means to people… I just couldn’t be the one that let it shut down,” he said.

The Jesup is the oldest drive-in in the state, opened in 1948, although it was closed for about 10 years in the 1960s. Atlanta’s Starlight Drive-In Theatre, which opened the following year, is Georgia’s oldest continuously operating drive-in.

Hickox said that his drive-in is still profitable, which is great to hear considering how much it cost to rebuild it. Here’s hoping that it stays a beloved institution for generations to come.

Wichita’s Starlite gets more time

screen grab from a KWCH news video

Here’s more good news from the continuing saga of the Starlite Drive-In Theatre in Wichita KS. Owner Blake Smith, who also owns the Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa OK, received an extension on the loan that the city of Wichita gave him to buy the Starlite’s digital projectors. The full story is available, with a bit of video that I can’t embed here, at KWCH, Wichita’s News Leader.

The Starlite began its life as the single-screen Rainbow in 1953. The drive-in underwent extensive renovation in 1974, including a large new projection and concession building and a second screen, and became the Landmark Twin. In the intervening years, the name morphed into the Landmark Starlite and then to just the Starlite that it is today.

The struggles began in 2016. After longtime owner Jim Goble passed away, Chuck Bucinski bought the Starlite, but soon began saying the drive-in was in financial trouble. In the summer of 2018, he pursuaded Wichita to change the Starlite’s zoning to allow for industrial uses, “strictly for estate-planning purposes”, but announced its permanent closure in October that year. The community rallied, and Smith was able to buy the drive-in to keep it running.

The Starlite did well in 2019. Smith said he was considering selling season passes for 2020. Uh oh. The Covid pandemic tamped down the Starlite’s business that summer, and audiences have been slow to return in the years since.

Part of the package deal that Smith got in 2018 was a loan from the city to buy new digital projectors to replace the pair that were no longer there after Bucinski’s departure. That $200,000 was a heavy burden considering the covid-initiated drop in attendance. From KWCH’s report, the city council was delighted to help keep the Starlite open, extending the loan till 2031. It’s always nice when local officials recognize a drive-in’s value to the community.

Winter Strategies for Drive-In Theaters: Fundraiser Events

from the Calvert City Drive-In Facebook page

I’m always on the lookout for good ideas for drive-in owners, and this is one of them. The Calvert Drive In in Calvert City KY has found a way to help community groups and add a bit of profit during the slow weeknights of winter.

As reported last week by the Marshall County Tribune-Courier, Calvert owner Seth Manea was trying to find a way to support local groups looking for donations. He’s been keeping the Calvert open on weekends during the winter, but the weekdays were probably too slow to justify seven days a week.

Manea invited these groups to help choose a suitable movie (such as a baseball-related flick for the local baseball team), then commit to work the box office for what would have been a dark weeknight. The groups will prevail on their customers to visit the Calvert for a good time instead of buying chocolate bars or whatever else fundraisers are hawking these days.

“Manea said there have already been approximately 30 dates booked, and considers the availability sold out,” the Trib reported. He said he’ll pay the distributors for the movie, then provide a percentage of the gate profit to the fundraisers.

What a great no-lose proposition for any drive-in owner! No need to worry if next Wednesday’s weather will entice a large crowd to drive in to watch some classic film. Instead, bring on a local charitable partner to sell the tickets in advance, provide some volunteer labor, and leave the drive-in with more cash that it would have had by staying dark. And it doesn’t hurt that the process leaves the drive-in owner looking like a hero.