Can the Drive-In Survive?
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On this week’s episode, I’m joined by April Wright, director of Back to the Drive-In. We discuss the ways in which drive-in theaters kinda-thrived during the pandemic, but also have been hit by some of the same problems plaguing every industry in the post-pandemic era: labor shortages, supply chain issues, and nonsensical mandates from local governments. Make sure to check out Back to the Drive-In, which is on VOD now. You can listen to the show at the player up there or subscribe at the links below:
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Can the Drive-In Survive?
The small Texas town where I grew up still has a working drive-in theater: the WesMer (the name is a portmanteau of the names of the 2 towns between which it is located: Mercedes and Weslaco). My friends and I did sneak into the drive-in on occasion but usually paid the admission since it was so cheap, even then. And even if we did sneak in we bought concessions with the bit of money we saved so maybe that balances out somehow. My sister who still lives in the area assures me that the WesMer still attracts a crowd especially on Fri and Sat -- enough to cause a traffic back-up.
Of more importance to your guest, April Wright: after listening to your pod, I watched both her drive-in docs and enjoyed them. It was nice to see people who are so dedicated to the culture that "making it work" is more important than "making money". My best wishes to all those drive-in owners for their continued success.
Sonny,
Drive-Ins were written off 40 years ago and many (certainly not most) survived. In any area where there is a relatively large number of hipsters in a warm climate, they will survive.
And old timey one close to me here in the Hoosier Heartland, rebooted during COVID and it is still going strong from mid-April to late October.