Blue Fox Drive-In says it will close for good if it can’t reopen soon

The Blue Fox Drive-In movie theater on Whidbey Island is a summer staple for many Puget Sound residents, but that tradition could come to an end this year. The drive-in says if it doesn’t receive the green light from the state soon to reopen, it will have to shut off its screen for good.

The 60-year-old outdoor cinema, which sits just south of Oak Harbor, normally serves up double-features, go-kart racing, arcade games, and a variety of treats at its snack bar. Like other businesses across the state, it is waiting to reopen as the stay-at-home order lifts.

However, while Governor Inslee’s phased reopening plan includes drive-in spiritual services in Phase 1 and cinemas at limited capacity in Phase 3, it makes no mention of drive-in movie theaters.

Blue Fox owner Darrell Bratt said he has contacted the governor’s office multiple times to ask when he is allowed to reopen his business, but has not received a response.

Whidbey Island’s Blue Fox Drive-In going strong after 60 years

“We’re waiting for clarification of when drive-ins can open back up … no answer, no returned emails, nothing,” Bratt said. “I think he’s just got us lumped into Phase 3 with movie theaters, but we don’t even know that for sure because they won’t get back to us.”

He sees this as extremely unfair since drive-in theaters, by nature, force people to social distance when watching a film, whereas cinemas pack people together in an enclosed space.

Bratt said the five drive-in theaters left in the state initially received an exemption from the governor’s office after regular cinemas were told to shut down in mid-March. When the stay-at-home order came out at the end of the month, the Blue Fox had to halt everything except to-go food orders.

Ironically, he said, that was about the same time the weather began to change after a very rainy and financially slow winter. Now he sees the warm, sunny weather and knows he is missing out on prime time to make up for those January days.

“It’s a seasonal business — you have very few months that the weather is great for a drive-in movie theater to make enough money to last the next winter,” Bratt said.

At the earliest, Phase 3 could start in late June. Bratt said the business will not survive until then.

“I just can’t see — unless we can get open in the next couple weeks — us making enough money to last through the winter again,” he said.

Fans across the region are clamoring for the Blue Fox and the other four drive-ins to open back up. An online petition asking the state to allow drive-in theaters to resume operations had more than 30,000 signatures in just its first day.

Bratt is not the only business owner to find the reopening phases confusing. The Washington Retail Association said many small business owners were frustrated that even though Phase 1 began Tuesday, Phase 1 businesses have to wait for their industry’s own set of safety precautions to be released before reopening. The owner of Brown Bear Car Wash told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show he received mixed messages from the state about when he was allowed to start up again, and noted that Costco was already running its car wash service.

Bratt said his staff have masks and are prepared to enforce social distancing regulations, such as making all attendees wear masks, staying in their cars apart from going to the concession stand or restroom, and standing 6 feet apart when in line. He feels that, especially with large consumer stores allowed to draw crowds of shoppers and drive-in church services allowed to start, the state’s rules are inconsistent.

“I don’t understand when you have 250 cars in a Costco parking lot that are parked right next to each other, as opposed to 200 cars at a drive-in,” Bratt said.

KIRO Radio reached out to Governor Inslee’s office for comment but had not yet heard back at the time of publication. This story will be updated if a response is received.

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