Memorial Day weekend is the standard opening day for York County staple Haar’s Drive-in, but this year was a little different.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Haar’s President Vickie Hardy said they have had to make significant adjustments to how they operate but based off this weekend, they are excited about their future.
On a normal weekend, more than 500 cars can pack the drive-in, with over-flow space available. This past weekend, the drive-in allowed half their capacity, 250 cars each night, and no overflow. They sold out three nights of two shows each in 24 hours, and for them, that was more than enough.
“We were ecstatic. For people to want to patronize the drive-in, to patronize the snack bar. They were just as excited as we were to see the families, and not worry about everything,” Hardy said. “Just smiling, laughing, playing games. No stress in the world.”
Haar’s is one of many drive-in movie theaters attempting to make a comeback during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the unique opportunity to provide people with outdoor entertainment, while still keeping them in their own spaces and vehicles.
Social distancing to them means one vehicle between speaker posts when usually they can fit two, Hardy said. 6 foot distancing at the snack bar food line and the restrooms are required, and only one person is allowed in the restrooms at a time. They’re also doing online ticket sales for the first time.
The drive-in’s staff of about 15 underwent special training and are following all guidelines when it comes to food prep and serving, Hardy said. In normal times, they still were very careful, so the addition of masks has been the main change there.
“There was a lot of research involved to see what would be the best way and a lot of reading the guidelines and the rules,” Hardy said. “We kind of had to educate ourselves a little bit. And train our employees, to adapt to this new way.”
There are challenges to operating the drive-in under these new restrictions, but it’s something Hardy and her family who helps run the business are willing to work through.
“This is a little bit of a new norm for us. Please be patient as a we adapt to some of these new changes that we’re implementing. Some work some don’t work," Hardy said. “We really need the support of our customers. We didn’t ask for this, we may not like some of the things but we’re gonna still try to give you a good movie in a nice evening out for you and your family to watch under the stars.”
Read: Retail returns to Cumberland County, but with face masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing
The other issue they’re running into is the actual movies themselves, as many big movie releases have either been delayed for months or the movies are going straight to on-demand. Hardy said they are still figuring out how they will work through that. But they have some ideas, Hardy said.
Hardy called Memorial Day weekend a learning experience, and she looks forward to continuing to make adjustments as they go. While it happens, she asks that people remain considerate of their rules.
“We would love to go back to letting in as many people in as we can, but that’s not possible. We do want our family and our staff and our customers to be safe; that is our utmost concern,” Hardy said. “If you do plan on coming to the moving, please be respectful, please follow the guidelines. It’s for the safety of us all.”
Movie-goers can check the Haar’s Drive-in Facebook and website for updated information on movies, showtimes and tickets.
Read more on PennLive:
- Haar’s Drive-In: Movie nights are back with Friday opening
- Wood-Mode employees are not complaining about this surprise: a $500 bonus
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May 25, 2020 at 06:11AM
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