photo by Earl Leatherberry, used by permission

The Tampa (FL) Tribune gave us a piece of good news this week. The Joy-Lan Drive-In of Dade City has made the conversion to digital projection thanks to its owner, 83-year-old Harold Spears.

You really should read the article for its full collection of quotes and wisdom from Spears, who’s been in the drive-in industry for almost 60 years. For example, he recognizes that the appeal of the drive-in is its general relaxed atmosphere. He also notes that the Joy-Lan used to attract more teenagers than it does now.

Spears, who also owns the Silver Moon Drive-In (Lakeland), recognized that his only choices were converting to digital or closing. “The business that we do really didn’t justify the investment, but I like this business,” he said. “I enjoy this business. I would certainly hate to have to close it up.” Let’s offer our thanks to Spears for keeping his drive-ins alive and to the Tribune for writing about it.

WPTV, the news leader in Palm Beach FL, showed a great report last night live from the projection booth of the Lake Worth Drive-In. Lake Worth has made the transition to digital projection, and it was the first time I’d seen what it looks like in there without the 35mm platters revolving.

This is one of the best drive-in news reports I’ve ever seen, but there are a couple of odd bits about it. The reporter quotes unknown “industry analysts” as saying that 90% of existing drive-ins haven’t converted yet, and the implication is that they’ll close as a result. I’d guess that as many as half of current drive-ins will convert this year, mainly because any drive-in that has survived this long is likely to continue.

The other odd thing is that we see Joshua Jordan, the guy in the Lake Worth projection room, say, “I think we’ll still go on for a couple of more years until we can’t go on no more.” That doesn’t make sense. The Lake Worth just shelled out an “estimated $70,000” to upgrade its equipment, which is now in place. The owners wouldn’t have done that unless they were planning to stay in business for the long haul. Let’s hope the Lake Worth finds a way to stay open for decades to come.

WINK TV, the news leader in Fort Myers (FL), ran a story this morning about the reopening of the Northside Flea Market and Drive In (no hyphen?!) in North Fort Myers. It’s a decent little early-morning video, and it’s a pity that I can’t embed it here so more folks would see it.

The old Northside Drive-In had been closed for a few years, maybe since 2007. The folks there now say they’re doing restoration work with a new screen coming in early 2013. What I think is the most brilliant part of their plan is adding a full-time 50s diner serving breakfast and lunch. With distributors taking most of the money from admission tickets, drive-ins live on their restaurants. It’s great to see another drive-in embrace its restaurant and use its resources for more than movietime munchies. Good luck!