Showboat Drive-in, northwest of Cypress, will air its final movie on Sept.14. Owner Andrew Thomas told ABC13 the drive-in is a casualty of COVID-19.
"Starting in 2020 when COVID hits you have a huge number of movies get delayed and a typical year there's about 100 to 150 major releases that come out and we only had 40 that year and the average over the last three years has been about 80 so we're still way behind where we need to be," Thomas explained.
Thomas told ABC13 the Hollywood writers' strike compounded the problem along with property taxes.
He said development in the area has caused light pollution, impacting the viewing experience.
For the above reasons, Thomas and his wife are closing the cash only drive-in which opened in 2005. They have plans to reopen in two new locations.
Thomas' twelve employees will be out of jobs. Among them is Kendall Carty. Carty told ABC13 that she got her first job at the theater a decade ago at the age of 16. She has since worked her way up to managing the facility and lives on-site. She is now looking for work and a new home.
"It is essentially my life," Carty said. "A huge part of who I am as a person."
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