West Wind Drive-In announces plans to reopen in Goleta over the next few days
GOLETA, Calif. - West Wind Drive-In and Public Market announced on Friday that it will be reopening its Goleta location in the next few days. The drive-in officially opened Memorial Day evening with a Harry Potter double-feature.
The Drive-In theater located at 907 S. Kellogg Ave in Goleta closed its gates just over a year ago after playing movies for families for nine years.
Movie fans recently began asking West Wind to reopen their Goleta location after hearing drive-ins in surrounding counties were allowed to open amid the pandemic.
In response, West Wind sent out an email saying they would love to reopen their Goleta location but first needed approval from Santa Barbara County.
They said this was because the current stay-at-home order from SB County required all movie theaters to remain closed for health precautions. They even asked movie fans to email County Supervisor Gregg Hart and ask him to let the drive-in reopen. This weekend they got their wish.
Supervisor Hart confirmed in a message to NewsChannel 3 that the drive-in can safely reopen. "Good news for movie fans. The drive-in movie theater is allowed to open under the latest Public Health Order. I emailed that news to the operator Friday afternoon. I had been working on this with him for days."
The most recent Santa Barbara County Public Health Order lists drive-in theaters as lower-risk businesses that may remain open with modified operations and social distancing, or reopen more fully with self-certification.
West Wind already posted some positions for hire online, days before their confirmation of reopening, which some movie fans took notice of.
You can read more about West Wind and view its other drive-in locations on their website www.westwinddi.com.
