The last piece of the deal to save the Starlite Drive-In is about to fall into place.
The Wichita City Council is poised to lend the operator $200,000 to purchase new digital projectors, the key to reopening the Starlite in late February. Money to fund the loan will come from a $1 million allocation to the south Wichita council district of Councilman James Clendenin.
Each council member was allocated that amount for district improvements when the council sold the city-owned Hyatt Hotel in 2016.
Clendenin said he has no doubt the five-year, 1 percent interest loan will get paid back. Starlite supporters have already pledged $50,000 to the cause.
“I was getting calls from drive-ins from around the country saying the Starlite is really one of the crown jewel drive-ins in the nation,” he said. “It’s well-kept, well supported, it makes money, it’s clean.”
Clendenin said he’s seen the books and the Starlite has made a yearly profit for decades. Also, the new operator, who has a drive-in in Tulsa, has given the city a personal guarantee to make good on the loan, Clendenin said.
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