Three teenagers bring drive-in movies back to Sudbury

Drive-in movies return to Sudbury this summer, thanks to three people who weren't even born when the last one closed nearly 30 years ago.

Three teenagers have started a summer business called the Sudbury Drive-in, that will transform the Home Depot parking lot into a drive-in four nights in July and August, with the first showings set for July 16.

It will feature an 800 square foot screen, popcorn machines and audio transmitted into your car radio on a localized FM frequency.

The owners are Katie Yao, 17, Aiden Best, 18 and Ben MacKenzie, 17.

They were sitting around one day chatting about what there was to do in Sudbury and came up with the idea of opening a drive-in to give themselves summer jobs.

But Yao says they didn't know at time how much work was involved.

"There's been a lot of challenges, there's been a lot of forms, there's been a lot of meetings done," she said.

"It's definitely an amazing experience, a little bit overwhelming, but we're all very excited."

Best said they were surprised by the response from Sudburians, with over 5,000 likes on their Facebook page.

"It's been a fun experience to be able to see something blow up so far. The only thing is starting a business is not as easy as everyone thinks it is," he said.

Best said he foresees their customers as being a mix of young people and those who grew up during the golden age of drive-in movies.

Northeastern Ontario has been without a drive-in movie theatre since the Skylark near Sault Ste. Marie faded to black a few years ago.

Sudbury once had three drive-in theatres—the Lasalle, Highway 69 and the Starlite in Hanmer— the last of which closed in the late 1980s.