Kings is closed for the season, maybe for good

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As we reported recently, the Kings Drive-In (Armona CA) was suffering the effects of vandalism and was hoping to find enough support to keep going. Now there’s a new story from KFSN, Fresno’s news leader, that it may all be for naught.

The report says that switching to a digital projection system would require more than swapping in new equipment. “It’s an old building. They’d have to tear down this wall and rewire the whole building,” said the owner’s daughter, Catherine Graff.

Against that sad backdrop, the Kings has closed for the season, and the owners sound unsure but pessimistic about its chances to reopen in 2013.

Northside reopens in Fort Myers

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Fort Myers beachWINK 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!

Transit sees uptick after digital conversion

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Transit Drive-In, click to visitThe Buffalo (NY) News ran an article this weekend about movie theaters’ transition to digital projection systems. At the top, with a great photo of the new projector, is Rick Cohen, owner of the Transit Drive-In (Lockport NY).

Cohen and the Transit converted to digital in March, and he’s happy about the improvements.  Instead of wrestling with huge reels of film for an hour each just to set up each movie, now he pops in a disc and is ready in less than five minutes. “And the quality is amazing,” Cohen said, “the dirt, dust, scratches and color-fade over time are all eliminated. The color remains vibrant.”

The other nice factor is that ticket sales are up 12 percent since the conversion, which Cohen attributed to “a better quality product that’s worth paying for.”

The Transit tied its conversion to a concession stand upgrade, and the whole project cost $1.5 million, half paid through fundraisers, half through a loan. According to the article, “Cohen encourages other operators to bite the bullet and pay the initial cost to convert because its an upgrade to their businesses with long-term benefits.” Go check it out!