Restaurants are turning their parking lots into drive-in movie theaters during the pandemic

Your local movie theater might be closed during the COVID lockdown, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some big-screen entertainment. Several restaurants in the U.S. have turned their parking lots into drive-in movie theaters.

This move ticks all the boxes: It provides a couple of hours of escapism while still complying with the recommended social distancing measures.

Better Homes & Hardens reports that, in March, the owner of BJ’s Restaurant and Bar in Mingus, Texas, announced the first movie screening in their parking lot.

“When the world is shutting down, we have to go back to our roots for entertainment,” Clint Gibson wrote on Facebook after they’d put up a giant screen at one end of their lot:

Over the last few weeks, BJ’s has welcomed customers to their drive-in theater every Friday and Saturday, and they’ve tried to give them what they want by letting them choose their favorite from a selection of much-loved movies. This week’s choices, for example, include “8 Seconds,” “Urban Cowboy,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Grease” and “Twister.”

Peoples Restaurant and Lounge in Corpus Christi, Texas, has also embraced this new way of serving its customers.

“We have converted our restaurant into a Drive-in Movie theater showing older and newer classics while at the same time providing excellent food and service,” states its website. “We will continue this until we feel it is safe for the community and us to return to our table side service.”

As well as offering several showtimes each week, Peoples is also screening “Star Wars: A New Hope” May 4 through May 6 to commemorate Star Wars Day 2020.

Meanwhile, The Butler House in Houston, Texas, has also been running regular drive-in movies nights and also offers “vintage nights,” where old movies are combined with wine tastings.

It’s not just restaurants in Texas that are getting in on the drive-in movie trend. In Omaha, Nebraska, The Corner Kick hosts weekly movie nights, also voted upon by the public. Their April 29 screening was the classic adventure comedy “The Goonies.”

The Corner Kick even invited moviegoers to show up for the screening in their “best Goonies costume” for the chance to win a $50 gift card for the restaurant.

Who says lockdown has to be boring?