Rexburg drive-in permanently closing after 75 years. Here’s what’s happening with the property
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REXBURG – A longtime drive-in theater is closing its doors after 75 years of operation.
Teton Vu Drive-in at 1114 North Yellowstone Highway in Rexburg announced on its Facebook page last week it is closing for good on August 24.
“We are sad to announce the permanent closure of the Teton Vu Drive-In,” the Facebook post says. “We are so grateful for all of your love and support throughout the years that we have been open.”
It will continue to show movies through Aug. 24.
Theater owner Cameron Andrews tells EastIdahoNews.com they’ve been leasing the land from the property owner and the closure is due to a development project that’s been in the works for several years.
“When we started this 15 years ago, we thought we’d be lucky to get five years. We knew full well it was prime development property and that was the inevitable end,” Andrews says.
He tried buying the property several years ago, but ultimately decided against it because he knew running a profitable seasonal business wouldn’t keep up with the property value.
He appreciates the owner’s willingness to let them keep operating until they were ready to break ground on a new development.
Steve Hansen is one of multiple investors with H2 Venture Properties. He’s working with the property owner, Kuhn Properties, to develop it. He says they’ve finalized a contract to build 50 townhomes and 120 apartments in the first phase of construction. The total number of units for the entire project will be 410.
“It’s in a really nice spot and it’s right there on the edge of Rexburg where it’s growing really fast,” Hansen says. “We’ve got a lot of information showing Rexburg needs a lot more housing for how many people are moving in.”
The project is awaiting approval from the city, but Hansen is hoping the project will get underway in September.
He anticipates the entire project taking about three years to complete, with the first portion estimated to take about two years.
‘It was successful because the community got behind it’
Andrews took over the lease for Teton Vu in 2009. The Vail Family operated the business before him and it had been vacant for several years when he took it over.
The acquisition of Teton Vu Drive-in happened after he’d merged the old Holiday and Paramount Twin into Paramount 5, which he also owns.
“We opened (Teton Vu) within six or seven weeks of meeting the landlord and got it opened up and running,” Andrews recalls.
Tom Goe owned the Teton Vu property at one point, which he planned to develop. It never panned out and Kuhn Properties bought it in 2022.
Teton Vu Drive-in first opened in the early 1950s. Andrews isn’t sure who the original owner was but he still has the first projector.
“It was built before film was on platters,” Andrews explains. “One projector ran a reel. When that reel ran out, they hit start on the next projector and loaded the first one. It just bounced back and forth.”
It’s changed hands numerous times over the years and survived the Teton Dam Flood in 1976.
“After the flood, it was remodeled and the diner building was added. They also added a screen to make it wider,” says Andrews.
Though drive-in theaters had been declining in recent years, Andrews says the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to their rise in popularity.
“For a while, that was the only way you could go to a movie,” Andrews says. “Since then, we’ve seen a surge of companies putting in multi-screen drive-ins.”
Hansen is working with Andrews to give the theater a “nice sendoff” before it closes permanently. It’s not clear what that will look like because those details are still being finalized. Information will be forthcoming at a later date.
Andrews expresses gratitude to the developers for honoring the theater’s history.
“I’ve really been impressed. They’re not looking to just level the drive-in and move on. They recognize the history and its value in the community over the last 75 years,” says Andrews. “They’re finding ways to incorporate parts of the original screen into the architecture (of their development).”
Andrews is grateful for the community support over the years and looks forward to celebrating 75 years of operation.
“People appreciate that it’s a small, hometown business and it was run that way,” he says. “It was successful because the community got behind it.”
He invites patrons to see a movie while they still can. Movies showing this week are “Despicable Me 4” and “Twisters.” The double feature begins nightly at 9:40 p.m.