Ercilia Galloway remembers her husband, Drew, making her dream date a reality when he took her to watch a movie under the stars at Coyote Drive-In for the first time.
They laid in the bed of a pickup truck, giggled with each other and had a really fun time watching the film, she recalled.
Over the next 10 years, the couple made regular visits to the Fort Worth theater — most recently with their 3-month-old baby along for the ride.
On Labor Day, the Galloways’ tradition came to an end.
Coyote Drive-In held its final movie screenings after 14 years as the theater’s lease with the Tarrant Regional Water District concluded. Roughly 800 cars filled the 18-acre theater for final showings of “Coyote vs. Acme,” “Cars: 20th Anniversary,” “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and “The End of Oak Street.”
“We’re trying to figure out where we’re gonna go and how we’re gonna do movies after this,” Ercilia said.
General manager Chris Fortune, left, and president Glenn Solomon pose with the Coyote Drive-In sign during the theater’s last day open on Sept. 7, 2026, in Fort Worth. (Elvis Martinez-Cartagena | Fort Worth Report)
Attendees sit atop a truck as they wait for a movie to begin at the Coyote Drive-In during its last day open on Sept. 7, 2026, in Fort Worth. (Elvis Martinez-Cartagena | Fort Worth Report)
The outdoor theater was located on the future Panther Island project, which is slated to begin construction on two new canals and a 3-acre park this fall.
General manager Chris Fortune said the closure leaves “a giant hole” for Fort Worth moviegoers. The theater also hosted weddings, concerts and graduations during the pandemic.
“The last two weeks you’ve seen everybody try to get their last drive-in experience,” he said in reference to the closure announcement made mid-August. “I wish we had more time to let them make those memories.”
Coyote Drive-In president Glenn Solomon confirmed that he is exploring other locations for the outdoor theater but didn’t elaborate.
Teens prep for final shift
Coyote Drive-In’s final day started like any other normal day with employees arriving at 4 p.m.
The teenage concession stand workers started assembling popcorn boxes and lining them up on the counters. Some prepped food — hot dogs, burgers and corndogs — while others filled the fountain drink machine with ice. Sweat dripped from most of their foreheads as the summer heat had not proven kind.
Shift lead Tristan Batey, 19, made his rounds as he assigned roles to ensure everything was ready to go when the gates opened at 6:30 p.m.
Workers behind the counter of Coyote Drive-In serve movie goers popcorn, snacks and drinks before movies begin on the final night, Sept. 7, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Coyote Drive-In employees Nathan Fuentes, 25, left, and Abigail Ward, 19, open the outdoor theater’s gates one last time on Sept. 7, 2026, in Fort Worth. (Elvis Martinez-Cartagena | Fort Worth Report)
Batey described his final shift as bittersweet and expressed frustration with the Panther Island development taking over the lot.
“Fort Worth has been getting more and more boring every year. So much new stuff is coming, but it only lasts like three years, and then it’s gone,” he said. “But this place has held that bulwark. It’s unique.”
Batey said he’ll miss the open environment the movie theater provided whenever his friends or family needed a summer avenue for hanging out.
“For some people it might be a little hard to see (drive-ins) as anything less than a novelty, but there’s so much more to it,” he said. “When you go to a regular theater you’re expected to be quiet. But at a drive-in, you get your own bubble.”
Many Fort Worth residents agreed with that sentiment. Lines of vehicles raced in to claim their spots at one of the four screens as soon as the gates opened. People rushed to the concession stands to buy their favorite snacks.
The teens didn’t get much of a break for the rest of the night.
Four red projection booths sit at the back of each viewing area at Coyote Drive-In to show movies on the big screen at night. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Rows of cars line the Coyote Drive-In for one of their final showings, “Coyote vs. Acme,” on their final evening, Sept. 7, 2026. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Families say their goodbyes
Mallory Qualls unfolded lawn chairs as two of her children played on the field — the Fort Worth skyline behind them.
Her family had arrived an hour before the “Coyote vs. Acme” screening to claim a front row spot for their final drive-in outing.
The Quallses had been regular Coyote visitors and were upset when they heard about the closure on social media, Mallory said. It only felt appropriate to say goodbye with a movie starring a coyote, she added.
“Even though we’ve got to take the kids back to school tomorrow, we’re happy to be here to close out this saga, era of our lives,” she said.
At the nearby “Cars” screen, engaged couple Blake Taylor and Tuesday Kissinger reminisced about their first date and engagement photos session at Coyote Drive-In. The outdoor theater will always be a sentimental place in their hearts, Kissinger said.
“It just felt very full circle for us,” she said. “(Coyote) is so important to us and our story.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdCtOPlpRHw/
The last howl
Moviegoers began to clear the premises as midnight neared. The drive-in became quiet, a stark reflection of the bustling venue hours before.
As the teenagers closed down concessions, Fortune brought out dozens of movie posters for his employees to take home as souvenirs. Staff swarmed the rolls to get their picks from “Klara and the Sun” to “Practical Magic 2.”
One employee unfolded his “Coyote vs. Acme” poster and asked each of his co-workers to sign it — reminiscent of the last day of school when classmates would rush to sign each other’s yearbooks. The teenagers spent those final moments laughing and cracking jokes.
Fortune and assistant general manager Brian Smith were the last on the property by the end of the long night.
There was only one task left on their list.
They made their way off the property and locked the gates, letting Fort Worth know the coyote had let out its last howl.
Tristan Batey signs his co-worker’s “Coyote vs. Acme” poster at the end of their shift on Sept. 8, 2026. Staff finished closing past midnight. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org.
The Fort Worth Report’s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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