MONROE, Mich. – A Monroe drive-in has received an unexpected encore.
When Memory Lane Drive-In Theater owners Donald Collins and Todd Williams shared news of the theater’s closure on social media last April, local industry veterans Keven and Sue Christy stepped forward with a proposal to keep the screens lighting up the night sky.
Now it’s opening weekend (May 23).
“Nobody wants to see this place succeed more than him and I. We don’t want to see the place close. We’d like to see it supported and kept around,” Williams said.
The business partners wrestled with the decision, but operating the drive-in was unsustainable.
“It was heartbreaking for us,” Collins said about the closure.
Williams continued, “A few days after I announced it was closed, Keven and Sue, who have been in the industry for many years and live here in Monroe, reached out and said, ‘Hey, we don’t want to see this happen.’”
Keven and Sue Christy will be responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the drive-in.
“We’re just a new management team, so to speak, and we’ll see how this works this year,” said Keven Christy.
The theater’s revival comes with strategic changes aimed at ensuring its sustainability.
Most notably, management will implement a $20 fee for outside food or beverages, emphasizing concession sales’ crucial role in the theater’s business model.
“The concession is where if we make any money, we can pay our employees and keep rebuilding and adding new things,” Keven said.
“Our food is phenomenal. We are two fat guys. We hand-selected and tasted every single thing on this menu. If it didn’t pass our liking, it ain’t going on the menu,” Williams said.
It’s good that the deep fryer arrived Friday afternoon, just in time to be set up and ready to use.
The Christys briefly paused during our interview to celebrate when the delivery truck pulled into the lot.
Click here for more information about showtimes and upcoming features. Visitors can also check the theater’s website at
The Memory Lane Drive-In is a two-screen outdoor movie theatre in Monroe, Michigan.
It shows first-run double features on both screens and also hosts events.