EBS STAFF
Efforts to rebuild the historic Spud Drive-In Theatre in Idaho’s Teton Valley progressed this week at a public hearing held by the Teton County commission. The hearing focused on a proposed amendment to the county’s land use code that could create a legal pathway for the drive-in’s reconstruction, according to reporting by the Teton Valley News.
The drive-in closed after a 2022 windstorm destroyed its movie screen and rebuilding has been stalled because the property sits on a grandfathered parcel that does not fall under the county’s current land-use rules.
The proposed amendment would formally recognize drive-in theaters as a permitted land use in Teton County. Under the draft rules, drive-ins would require at least three acres, connection to public wastewater, and a screen tower set back 75 feet from roads and limited to 60 feet tall. Operating hours would run from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., with requirements to minimize lighting and off-site noise. County commissioners will draft a formal ordinance for a future vote.
Opened in 1953 near Driggs along Idaho Highway 33, the Spud Drive-In is one of the last operating drive-in theaters in the Northern Rockies and a well-known local landmark, famous for its giant potato-shaped marquee and background views of the Tetons.
