By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Those nostalgic for summer nights at the Fork Union Drive-In may be enjoying popcorn and a double feature by this time next year, as the Planning Commission unanimously approved use permits for the site at its monthly meeting on Tuesday (June 10).
First opened on Winnsville Drive in Bremo Bluff in 1953, the drive-in was a local institution for decades. It was the smallest drive-in in the state, with room for just 180 vehicles, but it looms large in the memories of many long-time Fluvanna residents as the site of everything from their first jobs to first dates.
It closed after the 2011 season, following the death of its founder, F.F. White.
Fourteen years on, White’s family wants to refurbish and modernize the two-acre site and start creating memories for a new generation.
Manager Ron Unnerstall, who represents the FF White Family Trust, said they would have to widen the entrance, rebuild the movie screen, and update the bathrooms and concession stand, but could be ready for a ribbon-cutting ceremony as early as this fall.
Movies would resume in April 2026, with showings from Wednesday to Sunday during the summer and Friday and Saturday double features in spring and fall.
“We want it to be a family atmosphere,” said operations manager John Lamb. “If parents at Lake Monticello want to send their teenagers there to see a PG movie, we want them to feel comfortable in doing that.”
Reopening the site will also provide summer employment opportunities for young people in the area.
During the off-season, Unnerstall said they would be open to hosting flea markets, craft fairs, music festivals, car shows, and private events.
There has been considerable public support for the plan, with an online petition garnering over 1,100 signatures. During the public hearing, many people voiced their approval of the plan.
“We’ve been here for 33 years,” said Rhonda Griffith. “Both my daughters had their very first job at the drive-in, and they both live in another county, one county over on each side, and they’re so excited, and they want their kids to be able to experience everything, too. So we’re just all for it.”
Now, the use permits will move on to the Board of Supervisors, which will hold its own public hearings later this month.
