Advertisement

Ruskin Drive-In says bright lights from new Publix are driving customers away

 
The screen at Ruskin Family Drive-In Theatre has delighted moviegoers since 1952. But now, the owners say, bright lights from a supermarket nearby obscure the image.
The screen at Ruskin Family Drive-In Theatre has delighted moviegoers since 1952. But now, the owners say, bright lights from a supermarket nearby obscure the image.
Published Aug. 4, 2017

RUSKIN — Drive-in theaters are temples of light, its dancing beams hurled through the sky from projectors to giant outdoor screens.

But unwanted light is driving people away from one of these throwbacks to a half-century ago, when families and teens piled into cars to watch movies in dark privacy.

The Ruskin Family Drive In says the new threat comes from the Southshore Village shopping center across the street, where tall parking lights shine down and obscure the screen images.

Owners John and Karen Freiwald informed the property developers about their concerns as soon as they heard about plans for the center.

"I immediately told the owners that ambient light was our worst enemy," John Feiwald said. "They assured me that it would not be a problem."

But it is, he said, and has been since the lights went on in late 2016.

"Going from full house most Friday and Saturdays to 20 to 50 or 60 vehicles," Freiwald said. "Having your CPA tell you what you already know — that in the ensuing six months you are down by $50,000.00 as opposed to having an increase for the last seven years. How would you feel?"

Two stores in the center — Publix and Taco Bell — have told the Freiwalds they are in the process of finding a solution, he said.

A request for comment from the property developers, Concordia Properties LLC, brought a response from Publix.

Publix, according to spokesman Mark West, is "continuing to monitor the situation."

The shopping center isn't the only problem, West said in a statement to the Tampa Bay Times.

"Unfortunately, there has always been ambient light at the intersection near the Ruskin Family Drive In," he said. "There are businesses on the same side of the street, and the neighborhood continues to grow in that area."

Steps have been taken to reduce the light.

Publix does not allow cars to leave via the shopping center driveway in front of the drive-in, West said, so headlights do not interfere with viewing. The store's lights also were shortened.

What's more, Concordia installed special light shades. But they did no good, Freiwald said, because the lights still tower some 30 feet above the drive-in.

The Freiwalds say they may have to build their own, very expensive blind on the drive-in property, as other drive-ins have been forced to do.

But they hold out hope that their supporters will jump into the cause, as they have in the past when the business faced challenges.

Ruskin Family Drive-In opened in 1952, with the musical "Singin' in the Rain" and Freiwald first started working in a neighborhood drive-in pushing a refreshment cart at age 13.

He hopes to keep selling a "night under the stars experience" to a new generation of families.

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

"It's having the owner and wife on site every night," Freiwald said. "It's children playing for several hours before the show. Parents parking together with their friends or making new friends."

Publix says it is sympathetic.

"We apologize for the frustration the customers of the drive-in are feeling," West said. "As a very community oriented company, when those in our communities feel upset about something like this, we hear them and work to look into the matter at hand."

Contact Katelyn Massarelli at kmassarelli@tampabay.com.

"Having your CPA tell you what you already know — that in the ensuing six months you are down by $50,000.00 as opposed to having an increase for the last seven years. How would you feel?"

John Feiwald,

The Ruskin Family Drive In