OAK HARBOR, Wash. — Drive-in theaters are an American icon: a throwback to a much simpler time, long before "coronavirus" was a household word.
Now, the disease threatens the very existence of this already endangered piece of Americana, and some say the governor is to blame.
The Blue Fox Drive-in has operated in Oak Harbor for 61 years. Darrell Bratt and his family have owned it for more than half that time.
"It's a true family business," he said. "We all live here on the property. My kids grew up here."
Shut down indefinitely due to coronavirus, Bratt saw a glimmer of hope when the governor announced drive-in church services would be allowed.
Since food-to-go is legal, Bratt thought, what better place to have some snacks and see a movie than in the safety of your own car?
"It's just a natural to have it be a drive-in theater with take-out," says Bratt.
The Bratt family marked off social distancing spaces, installed sanitizing stations and agreed to limit the number of customers to half the capacity, roughly 200 cars.
But just before the Blue Fox was set to open, word came the show would not go on.
"When they said we couldn't open it was like a punch in the gut," says Bratt. "It's so disheartening when you think you're going to be able to open and maybe survive."
Gov. Jay Inslee is still lumping drive-ins and indoor theaters together.
Indoor theaters can't open until Phase 3, which is still more than a month away, at best.
A spokesman in Inslee's office told KING 5, "It is possible we could consider drive-in movie theaters in Phase 2. No decision has been made. The list provided in the phases is not exclusive."
Meantime, a petition is now circulating asking the governor to loosen those restrictions on all 5 of the state's drive-ins ASAP.
If they don't turn the projectors on soon, Bratt says it could be lights out for good.
"If we don't get operating to where we can start making some money, you're gonna lose them. We're seasonal businesses and need all the help we can get."
For now, the Bratt family do what they can to keep themselves busy, like mowing the grass around the grounds, hoping this family business won't be cut short.
"We just need to keep it going because the future is in my grandkids taking over this place," says Bratt. "Please, let us open."
