Movie lovers may mourn the news that Fort Worth cinema staple Coyote Drive-in will close in a few weeks.
The drive-in movie theater will darken the screen on more than a decade of outdoor movie history on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7, the theater announced in a press release sent on Aug. 17.
“When we opened Coyote Drive-In, we hoped to create more than just a place to watch movies; we wanted to create a place where families and friends could come together and make lasting memories,” Glenn Solomon, a managing partner of the theater, said in the release. “We have been incredibly fortunate to be part of the Fort Worth community and the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area, and we are deeply grateful to the hundreds of thousands of guests who chose to spend their evenings with us over the years.”
The closure comes as part of the Trinity River Vision project, according to the theater. The Panther Island expansion, which is set to include two new canals and a three-acre park, will occupy the space formerly rented by Coyote Drive-In.
The theater’s lease with the Tarrant Regional Water District included an agreement to end the lease when construction started, the theater said. The drive-in closed temporarily during COVID-19. This time the theater’s tone was more final, although the press release did not share plans other than inviting fans for the final screening.
The last movie will screen on Sept. 7, according to the drive-in. Fans of the theater expressed their sorrow for its closure on social media.
“Say it ain’t so Coyote Drive-In? I love taking my kids there,” one commenter wrote on Coyote Drive-In’s Facebook page. “It is the absolute best theater experience in Fort Worth.”
The theater opened in 2013 with help from investor Jimmy Buffett. A Lewisville location opened in 2016, only to shutter a couple of years later. The Fort Worth location appeared to be more enduring with its air of nostalgia and blockbuster and classic movie showings, but no longer.
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This article originally published at Fort Worth Coyote Drive-In to turn out the lights on Labor Day.