Drive-in open for at least one more season

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Fire up the mini van, grab the kids and pop that popcorn, Cottage Grove — the resilient 42-year-old Cottage View Drive-In will open for the season this month, a half-year after its future looked bleak under the shadow of a proposed 90-acre commercial development.

Representatives of Bloomington-based Mann Theatres said Wednesday the classic open-air, single screen theater would open for business April 18, weather permitting.

That looked unlikely to happen last fall, when PariPassu Companies of Minneapolis proposed a 90-acre, Wal-Mart anchored commercial center for the site.

“Whether the deal goes through or not, the drive-in may be gone regardless,” said Cottage View’s longtime owner Gerry Herringer at the time.

PariPassu and Cottage Grove officials met last week, but the city still has not received a formal proposal from the developer, said director of community development Howard Blin. That, he said, is “at least several months if not a year or two away.”

Tags: cottage_grove, drive-in, wal-mart