17 February 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A sure sign that spring is near Wichita’s Starlite Drive-in is opening up for the season Friday, Feb. 17.
Just a few years ago, it was on the brink of closure.
“This drive-in’s always been well attended. Wichita really supports the Starlite, and we’re just trying to keep it going,” said Blake Smith.
Smith bought and took over as owner of Starlite when he heard it was going to close in late 2018.
“It’s something that’s a little bit of a passion play for me, but of course, it does need to make money and work, and it is,” he said.
Smith is now entering his fifth drive-in season.
Since taking over, they have remodeled the concessions and got new projectors.
The Starlite is one of roughly 300 drive-ins left across the country. Smith says it’s because many owners sell them off because the land they take up is worth more. “You could do a lot more with the 26 acres that we have out here than you could with a twin drive-in. I mean, you know, AMC would put a 24-screen theater here or something, you know, you can do retail or whatever,” he explained.
As for the Starlite, Smith says they are doing well.
“As long as we have, you know, probably six or seven, you know, pretty big movies, drive-ins will be in good shape because we can get a lot of people in here,” Smith said. “This is a big drive-in. We can get 750 cars over there and 550 cars over here. So it’s a lot bigger than what people think.”
He is hoping for another successful season. Kicking off their season with the release of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.“
To learn more about the Starlite Drive-In, click here.