Independence drive-in theater set to close after nearly 60 years
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (KCTV) - The next two weekends will be the last time you’ll have a chance to see a movie at the B&B Twin Drive-In Theatres in Independence. Since 1965 this drive-in has been a staple in the Kansas City metro.
In most parts of the country Drive-In theaters are a thing of the past, but in Independence B&B Theaters Twin Drive-In was still bringing families together because it was more than movies that brought people here.
Even before managing Twin Drive-In, Kandy Combs came here as a child.
“I started coming here when I was two with my mom and stepdad on their very first date,” Combs recalled.
All over town KCTV heard from many locals that no matter how old they got, movies at this Drive-In made the experience more special.
“My mom would pop up a big bag of popcorn and put it in a grocery bag and pour a whole lot of butter over it and it be a big mess,” Shawn Gentry ed. “But it was being in close quarters of your car as opposed to amongst other strangers in a theatre that made it more fun.”
“I love taking my dad because that’s something he re as a kid,” Madison Callahan added. “I feel like that’s how we connected, and I also just love the concession stands and popcorn. Just everything about it.”
Since 2015 B&B Theatres had managed the property leasing it from Woodmen of the World Life Insurance. This time, they say their business couldn’t afford the rent rate brought on them.
“They came to us this year with about a 350% rent increase,” explained Paul Farnsworth, Executive Director of Communications and Content for B&B Theatres. “That just wasn’t a sustainable arrangement for us any longer. They didn’t give us a whole lot of context other than there’s been an opportunity for redevelopment in this area and they didn’t provide us any detail about what will happen to this space.”
We reached out to Woodmen of the World Life Insurance for comment but haven’t heard back. For Rachel Walker, this was more than just a job.
“For us, the people who grew up coming here as kids, this was our home away from home in the summer,” Walker said. “This is where our parents brought us. This is where I brought my kids.”
These next two weekends, the staff of the Twin Drive-In call on everyone to come out because they want it to be a sell-out in both lots. The entire yard can hold 1400 cars. Their last shows include the following movies:
Nov. 8-10
- GOONIES & JURASSIC PARK (1993)
- GREASE & DIRTY DANCING
Nov. 15-17
- GOONIES & JURASSIC PARK (1993)
- ELF & NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION
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