Less than a year after the Tascosa Drive-In in Amarillo appeared doomed, a local family has stepped in to acquire the venue.
The Amarillo Globe-News reported:
But, out of nowhere, the DeWitz family, Jim and Candy, known for having Jim’s Pizza, formerly La Bella’s Pizza, on Olsen, and also K-N Root Beer Drive-In Stand, flew in to save the day, just like a good Superman movie.
Recently the Tascosa Drive-In Facebook site teased the public with a “Big Announcement Soon” and then announced that they had found new owners who could bring much-needed restoration and modernization to the TDI. The DeWitz family purchased the theater.
The DeWitzes said they hope to reopen the theater by July 26. The family also wants a longer screening schedule, including Christmas and Halloween events.
They also plan to expand the venue’s menu, including applying for a beer and liquor license, and improving the playgrounds.
The Tascosa, which opened in 1952, is Amarillo’s only surviving drive-in theater.
The Tascosa isn’t on Route 66, but it sits less than a mile north of the Amarillo Boulevard alignment of the historic highway.
The next-closest operating drive-in on or near Route 66 is in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, or Las Vegas, New Mexico.
(Image of the Tascosa Drive-In theatre entrance in Amarillo, Texas, by Michael Kilgore via Flickr)