For $3.4M, you could own this southern Ontario drive-in movie theatre

CBC

12 hours ago

After 37 years of showing movies under the stars, owner John D'Addetta of the Mustang Drive-In just outside Guelph, Ont., has decided it's time to sell.
"I'm reaching 74 years old now and I think it's time to pretty well pack it in," said D'Adetta. "I enjoyed every minute of it. You know, I loved going out there, fresh air, you get to see a lot of people, a lot of friends."
The Mustang Drive-In is one of 16 remaining drive-ins in Ontario and a total of 37 across Canada. The nearly five hectare property on Jones Baseline just east of Guelph is listed for $3.4 million.
Robert Dickinson, a sales representative for Coldwell Banker Commercial Integrity Real Estate, says the location has been a cornerstone of community entertainment for many years.
"It's just an opportunity for a new buyer to take over and operate a beloved business that's still well used by the community," Dickinson said.
"You know there are not that many types of entertainment where you can bring the whole family and for an affordable price."
Flicker of memories
D'Addetta was already in the theatre business in the 1980s. He owned a movie theatre in downtown Oshawa when he had the opportunity to purchase the Mustang Drive-In and another drive-in movie theatre in Cobourg, east of Oshawa
D'Addetta says since he took over, there have been a lot of technical changes at the Mustang.
"We finally got rid of the outside speakers there, which were a pain in the you know where. People forgot that they had them on their windows, they'd drive off, ripping them off," D'Addetta said adding that resulted in "a lot of maintenance."
"We finally got rid of that and we went and picked up our own FM frequency radio station, which improved the sound and everything else."
D'Addetta says he was also happy to see the conversion from original film projectors, which made the change from what he calls the "fire hazard" Carbon Arc projector lamp to the Xenon bulb.
Then that technology was replaced about seven years ago when movies went from film to digital. Now a feature-length film comes in a small hard drive that they ingest into the projector to show on the screen.
Future of the property
As more people move to communities throughout southern Ontario, including the Guelph area, there are questions about whether the drive-in could be converted into housing. But Dickinson says the property is currently zoned agricultural with a legal non-conforming use to operate a drive-in movie theatre.
"Confirmation with the Township of Guelph/Eramosa would have to be undertaken by the buyer to any change of use," Dickinson said.
"Its current use only states that a drive-in theatre can operate there. But there is opportunity to do other income streams including antique car shows, farmers markets and any sort of outdoor venue event permissible by the township."
The Mustang Drive-In can fit between 400 and 500 cars on the property and it is currently open every weekend for the summer.
D'Addetta says they've also worked to maintain a vibe that reminds people of when drive-ins were first introduced.
"There's still the 1950s style diner. I have old clips at intermission of the bouncing hot dogs and all that stuff that's very cute," D'Addetta said.
"Much more relaxed atmosphere. Again, you're in your own car. If you don't like the first movie, have a snooze and watch a second movie. We always show a double feature, long weekends or so, triple features."