Back to the future: Drive-in movie theaters see resurgence during coronavirus pandemic

As some states begin to reopen restaurants and other businesses from coronavirus lockdowns, a relic of the 20th century is making a comeback: the drive-in movie theater.

While many of them struggle to be profitable, hundreds still exist in the country and are experiencing a resurgence during the era of social distancing guidelines, media outlets reported.

Jim Kopp, who owns Family Drive-in Theatre outside Winchester, Virginia, told The Washington Post that his venue shut down during the coronavirus stay-at-home order. But now, Kopp plans to reopen this weekend.

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“It’s going to be a little subdued, and it’s definitely going to be stressful,” Kopp told The Post. “But we can ride.”

There are still 305 drive-in theaters in the United States, according to the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association, and every state has one except Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana and North Dakota.

Drive-in theaters first appeared in 1933. During the 1950s, when Americans were dealing with the polio epidemic, some theaters said their venues were “flu and polio protected,” according to Food and Wine.

Theaters are taking precautions during the pandemic, The New York Times reported. At the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In in Austin, Texas, which allows 35 cars to park at a time, people can flash their tickets on their phones from their windows to get inside. Some have allowed people to order concessions by phone and servers deliver them to cars while wearing gloves.

“It’s a responsibility on our side to be as safe as possible,” Stephen Sauerbeck, owner of Sauerbeck Family Drive-In Theater in La Grange, Kentucky, told The New York Times. “I don’t want this to be, ‘We found a loophole in the situation, and we are going to operate an underground business the government is trying to shut down.’”