Like many other central Ohioans, Bryon Teagardner has been watching Gov. Mike DeWine’s press conferences about the coronavirus pandemic.

Teagardner, who since late 2018 has run the South Drive-In Theatre at 3050 S. High St., has had good reason to follow the news closely: In late March, Teagardner — along with the operators of the 23 other drive-in movie theaters sprinkled throughout Ohio — launched an effort to persuade state officials to allow the opening of their theaters.

Like traditional indoor movie theaters, drive-ins had been prohibited from operating since March 17, when Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health, mandated the closure of entertainment and recreation venues.

In a campaign spearheaded by North Ridgeville drive-in owner Timothy Sherman, drive-in operators argued to officials that viewing movies from within the confines of a vehicle was safe.

“Social distancing is built into our business model,” said Sherman, also a vice president of the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association. “With cars, you’re in your own space.”

By his count, Teagardner sent 41 letters to public officials, including state representatives and senators. Many responded sympathetically, he said, but a final verdict on the status of his business was long in coming.

“We didn’t really see any acknowledgment from the governor on any of his press conferences,” Teagardner said.

Then, last week, Teagardner received an early-morning email from Sherman, who, in poring over the “Stay Safe Ohio” order that had just been issued by Acton, discovered that drive-ins had indeed been excluded from the list of venues that were to remain closed.

“It was just quietly added to the order that was signed on April 30 by Dr. Acton,” Teagardner said. “That’s how we found out that we had been excluded.”

This month, drive-ins in Ohio will begin showing movies again — a rare nonessential business to be given an early go-ahead to resume operations.

“Drive-ins were allowed to reopen because people can gather in groups less than 10 in their own cars and can social-distance away from others,” Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Melanie Amato said in an emailed statement to The Dispatch.

Proprietors are eager to restart revenue streams that had ceased last fall, when drive-ins traditionally close for the year.

“We spend usually the first half of the year trying to pay off bills that came in the wintertime, and the second half of the year trying to save up for next winter,” Sherman said.

When longtime patrons pull into their favorite drive-in, however, they should expect changes.

The South Drive-In — which hopes to reopen by mid-May but will not have a firm date until the arrival of personal protective equipment for employees — will offer online ordering of both tickets and concessions.

The South Side theater also will operate at half its usual capacity. Normally, 1,025 cars can fill the lot, but to assure social distancing, parking will be staggered; spaces beside cars will remain empty.

No masks are required for moviegoers who remain in their vehicles, but if they choose to sit in front of their cars, they must don facial coverings; no one will be permitted to sit in the open spaces.

Similar measures are being adopted at Lancaster’s Skyview Drive-In, which will not reopen until the end of the month so it can set up online ordering and safety measures, including plexiglass barriers at concession stands.

“We have lots to do to get ready for the safety factor to protect our customers as well as our employees,” said owner Walt Effinger, whose drive-in also will require distancing between vehicles.

Even though new releases are unlikely to emerge from Hollywood soon, the Ohio drive-in community is cautiously optimistic about business.

“Most every operator is going to be expecting a decent crowd from the get-go, pretty much every night, because there is no other entertainment,” said Teagardner, who plans to book movies that were released prior to the shutdown, plus classic films.

Skip Yassenoff — whose family owned the South Drive-In for decades — understands if some patrons remain tentative.

“This is just so unpredictable,” Yassenoff said. “Maybe we’re going to keep having 500 and 600 new (coronavirus) cases a day. That’s got to make some people pause about going out more than they need to.”

As Sherman sees it, though, the responsible return of drive-ins might be a step in the right direction.

“It might be the first sign of things returning to normal in these times,” he said. “You can get out and do something other than going to the grocery store.”

tonguetteauthor2@aol.com