The Stars At Night

Mini Austin drive-in theater flickers back on with big safety measures

Owner Josh Frank says he thought about what would make his family comfortable before reopening.

Photo courtesy of Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In

Since May 4, Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive-In’s Austin location has been back in business, but with a new message: “Practice Safe Cinema.”

Blue Starlite initially closed its Austin at 2103 E M. Franklin Ave. location on March 25 when the city initiated its shelter-in-place mandate. Prior to reopening, the team spent a few days deciding what new social distancing policies to put in place and worked to make sure these would be clear to future visitors before anyone bought tickets.

When it came to deciding those exact rules, Josh Frank, owner of Blue Starlite, says he thought about what would make him feel comfortable if he was bringing his own family out for the first time after sheltering.

“I wanted my night of entertainment for families to feel 100 times safer than how I felt doing simple ‘essential’ tasks during the shelter in place,” he says.

Frank also looked at what other drive-ins around the country were doing, taking advantage of the fact that Blue Starlite is fairly small in comparison and thus able to take some safety measures even further.

As a result, Blue Starlite has implemented a series of social distancing operations, laid out on a designated page on its website.

For example, Blue Starlite is limiting car spaces to half of the normal amount, and are not allowing any walk-in options, except at the forest screen, which has a restricted number of visitors so moviegoers will have up to 15 feet of space between them.

Additionally, the drive-in is providing a text-for-help option so guests can get assistance safely from the comfort of their cars. It is also handing visitors concessions upon check-in so there’s no necessity for additional contact later as the night continues.

“It’s interesting, in Austin we get no pushback, everyone seems actually really pleased with our rules and grateful," Frank says. "A few customers are disappointed when they learn they can’t sit in hatchback or truck beds, but it is very clear on our website that that is the case so it’s their bad for not reading it.”

Other social distancing rules include the fact that windows must be rolled up 75 percent if you’re not wearing a mask during the movie, and you are required to wear a mask if you walk to the bathroom.

Frank admits that wearing masks has presented an interesting new issue for the drive-in's operations.

“We had to find a fix for the fact that communicating behind a mask makes it hard not to come across as having an angry demeanor when telling people to put their mask on, roll their window up correctly, or get back in their car,” he says. “We try to do it in a friendly voice and manner but anytime you give people ‘orders,’ especially ones they might not agree with because of their own viewpoints or politics, it can come across as a demand."

Before the pandemic, Frank said the drive-in would usually sell out on the weekends but be hit-or-miss on other nights. Since the pandemic, he has seen shows selling out every night.

When asked why he thinks going to a drive-in is appealing to so many people right now, Frank says, “It’s like watching a movie at home in your own space, but you still get to get out of the house and share a group experience in a safe way!”

Even as businesses reopen, there’s no denying that many Austinites still have concerns about going to public gatherings of any kind. To them, Frank has a message:

“Don’t go out until you are ready — even to our place,” he says. “Even if something scientifically is safe, that only means so much. Emotional safety is just as important and that is I think something some folks who are ready to get out and get back to 'normal’ don’t understand. Everyone has their own emotional and physical feeling of safety at this time and no one’s feelings are wrong. Every business makes their own decisions now on which customers to focus on in their comfortability.”

More information about Blue Starlite’s complete social distancing rules and their upcoming showtimes are available at here.

movies

Dinner and a Show

Voxtrot plays acoustic set for dinner series making a name in Austin

Wild Honey Pie Voxtrot dinner party in Bastrop

Photo by Brynn Osborn

Voxtrot played as a trio to a small crowd of lucky fans.

As much as entertainment gigs dry up in December, the iconic Austin band Voxtrot was busy. A few days before playing the Holiday Hootenanny — a mini festival at Radio East with other big names like Of Montreal and Danny Brown — the band appeared in Bastrop for an intimate acoustic set and a bit of storytelling after a multi-course dinner.

The dinner on December 10 was attended by locals who won tickets in a free raffle, but there will be more chances for Austinites to purchase tickets for future parties in 2025. Eric Weiner, the main organizer of the series, says he has "big plans for Austin" this upcoming year, but he keeps events under wraps until about a month out to maintain the mystery.

There were also videographers on-hand capturing the performance, so fans who keep up with Voxtrot will be seeing those videos in the coming months.

Wild Honey Pie Voxtrot dinner party in Bastrop The band showed up in smart suits.Photo by Brynn Osborn

Weiner is the founder of the Wild Honey Pie, formerly a popular music blog that's turned into a creative agency. They're based in New York, and have hosted events in Seattle, the Catskills, Brooklyn, and Los Angeles. But this wasn't the first event in Austin.

Most recently, the Wild Honey Pie hosted a dinner at Chef Mashama Bailey's now-closed Grey Market, featuring a concert by Zella Day. But first-ever dinner in Austin in 2019 was catered by local chef Sonya Cote at Eden East; the Voxtrot show was a chance to reunite at Cote's current digs, Store House Market and Eatery.

"Ever since, I've been just trying to find any excuse to work with Sonia again, and this kind of fell into our laps," said Weiner in a call with CultureMap ahead of the event.

He added that his relationship with Voxtrot — whose lo-fi, semi-retro song "The Start of Something" may be familiar to many Austinites — started simply because he was a fan. He estimates that the song has been on every romantic playlist he's made since college.

Remembering past dinner parties with lead singer Ramesh Srivastava, Weiner says, "He's so artistic. His music means the absolute world to me. ... If we like working with an artist once, we're not going to stop there."

Wild Honey Pie Voxtrot dinner party in Bastrop Voxtrot joined in on the food festivities.Photo by Brynn Osborn

Voxtrot famously broke up in 2010, which made their surprise return to the stage in 2022 all the more exciting. Srivastava doesn't shy away from talking about the period in between, and broached the subject with a couple of jokes during the Bastrop show. It's clear how an audience of dozens crowded around a few chairs changes the tone of the performance — not to mention that Voxtrot played as a trio that night, with drummer Matt Simon and bassist Jason Chronis.

In the lighthearted "stage" banter — which was necessary not just because of the size of the audience, but because the show was in a tent outside and the instruments needed almost constant tuning in the cold air — Srivastava also mused that at age 41, he might be approaching his days as a crooner.

Wild Honey Pie Voxtrot dinner party in Bastrop The dinner party format meant fans could spend some time chatting with the band.Photo by Brynn Osborn

Among the vignettes he told to introduce songs was a Bastrop County connection: Srivastava grew up in Austin and remembers creating a mythology around Smithville's Norma Jean Boulevard, which he spotted through the window on car trips. Part of that fiction included who might live there, but he never guessed he'd be in a band with a bassist who fit the bill. He dedicated the following performance of "Long Haul" to the fateful street.

The Wild Honey Pie dinner series has gained popularity for its laid-back approach to an exclusive outing. Shared tables mean people get to chat during dinner — and as fans of whoever is playing at the end of the night, they already have something in common. Weiner met his wife through someone he befriended at one of the parties.

"The whole setup of the event is to make friends," he said. "So it's hard to go and not make new connections."

Wild Honey Pie Voxtrot dinner party in Bastrop Eric Weiner and Sonya Cote.Photo by Brynn Osborn

An interesting menu also meant there was plenty to discuss, including "Crostini" Bastrop with pâté, parsley, pickled vegetables; a toasty Bon Fire Soup with pumpkin, coconut carrot "bacon," and crispy crickets; and a wild venison pie. (Vegans were welcome to the party, with a parallel menu.)

These bites were accompanied by creative drinks featuring Tito's Handmade Vodka: the Raised By Wolves, a black vodka daiquiri thanks to charcoal in the simple syrup; and The Start of Something, a refreshing pink lemonade-like cocktail with blueberry simple syrup and honey liqueur. Brand partners are a big part of keeping these events going, and in this case, Tito's was the reason people were able to attend for free.

Wild Honey Pie Voxtrot dinner party in Bastrop This is quite a few steps above finding a snack somewhere before a concert.Photo by Brynn Osborn

If Austinites want updates on the next Austin dinner party, they can check the lineup at thewildhoneypie.com, or sign up for the newsletter on the same page. There are also announcements on Instagram, plus videos of acoustic performances at other parties.

According to Weiner, it sounds like the next event isn't too far away. "We love Austin too much to only come once a year," he said.

concerts live music dinner bastrop chefs