The show may go on: AHS decides rural Alberta drive-in theatre can reopen, with conditions
The Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, Alta., was told to stop drive-in screenings on Monday
The story of a makeshift drive-in movie theatre is shaping up to have a pretty good plot.
The Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, Alta., is a restaurant, convenience store, gas station and campground.
During the pandemic, it's also been a drive-in theatre, until it was shut down by Alberta Health Services (AHS) on Monday.
In an email to CBC News, AHS says its inspector had a few concerns about the drive-in theatre: there were more than 15 people gathering, that people were getting out of their cars and that there weren't enough public washrooms or appropriate cleaning and disinfecting of high-touch surfaces.
But this story has a twist: AHS will allow the theatre to reopen, as long as appropriate safety measures are taken.
The idea for the drive-in came to Whistle Stop owner Christopher Scott when COVID-19 caused his regular businesses to slow down.
"I spent a couple of days really down, almost depressed, wondering what we're going to do," he said in an interview with CBC News on Thursday.
The wheels, or reels, really started turning when he began hearing from friends and family who were going stir-crazy being stuck inside.
"My first thought was, 'Well, I want to do something that's going to let people get out of their houses safely, following the social distancing rules, and enjoy a night out with their family,'" said Scott, 40, who purchased the establishment in July after working in the oilpatch for 20 years.
In early April, Scott opened his drive-in theatre and began inviting customers to take in a movie while enjoying some food from the comfort of their vehicles.
He said at first there were six or seven cars attending, but demand grew quickly.
"The last couple of weeks as it accelerated on social media, I think we had somewhere between 60 and 70 cars," he said. "The parking lot was full."
Scott said that he did his best to go above and beyond the province's guidelines for COVID-19.
"More frequent bathroom cleaners, sanitizing of the debit machine, sanitizing of countertops," he said. "Extra cleaning of anything people touch."
Scott believes AHS officials stepped in because there were too many people attending the screenings.
"They deemed it a mass gathering and said, 'Nope, that's it, no more,'" he said.
On Monday, AHS ordered the theatre to be shut down and issued a warning to Scott.
The next day, Scott took to social media to express his disappointment with the decision, describing it as a "brazen overreach by the government."
He said he hoped it would be a call to action for people, but he was shocked at the support he received.
"The positive response that we've got from Alberta is absolutely overwhelming," Scott said. "I think we're somewhere close to 30,000 views on that post in less than a day."
On Thursday afternoon, Scott received an email from AHS with some good news — he was going to be able to screen drive-in movies after all, with some conditions.
"It seems like the province wants to work with us and work with Albertans so that's definitely a win," he said.
In an email, AHS says it will work with organizers of drive-in events on a case-by-case basis as long as certain requirements are met. These include:
- Availability and the type of food service available
- Availability of public washrooms
- Appropriate cleaning and disinfecting of high-touch surfaces
- Physical distancing (including having vehicles two metres apart)
Scott believes his supporters played a big role in helping the drive-in theatre reopen.
"It sounds cliche but it's actually heartwarming to know that we had that much support," he said. "I've never experienced anything like that."
The Whistle Stop Cafe is located about 150 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.