Iconic Cascade Drive-In Closes After 58 Years In West Chicago

WEST CHICAGO, IL — For the past 58 years, you'd know it was the start of summer in the western suburbs by the blinking of fireflies, the chirping of birds, and the smell of popcorn and flickering of big-screen movies at the Cascade Drive-In theater. Just as the iconic drive-in was prepping to open for its 2019 season, news comes that the screens will stay dark. The owners announced Friday that the theater, one of the last of its kind in Chicagoland, has closed indefinitely.

The theater's owners said on Facebook Friday that the property owner has decided not to permit the theater to open. The parcel of land is up for sale, but Cascade Drive-In owners say it has not yet been sold and that no development plans have been made.

Cascade Drive-In owners say they can "only surmise that the landowner believes he has a better chance to get any future development approval from the city of West Chicago and surrounding community if the business is closed."

The current owners have operated the drive-in for the past three decades and have paid $6 million in rent, the Facebook post said. They added."A conversation and a decent transition would have been the least we could expect from the landowner."

Cascade's owners said, "It's devastating to us but we always knew the sale would be imminent one day but this scenario of closing with no other use for the property was totally unexpected."

On March 23, Cascade will host a sale of hoodies, popcorn machines, grills, a golf cart and more to give customers a chance to get their hands on a "piece of nostalgia."

The owners of Cascade closed their post by expressing a sentiment that will likely be shared throughout the surrounding community in the wake of news of the drive-in's closure.

They said, "Our hearts are broken."