The Spud Drive-In cleared its last two hurdles in mid-September. On Sept. 14, Teton County commissioners voted unanimously to approve the special use permit. A day later, on Sept. 15, the Driggs City Council extended the wastewater "will serve" letter that lets MD Spud LLC connect the Highway 33 property to city sewer. "We are a go to get to work on resurrecting the Spud Drive-In," developer Tom Hedges told Teton Valley News.
Most of the coverage so far has stopped at the headline that the Spud is coming back. The permit says more than that. The drive-in that reopens will run under limits the old one never had. The county has capped its hours, its big events and how cars line up on the highway. Those limits are why the project got approved, and they will shape what a summer night at the Spud looks like.
Why the Spud Needed a New Rulebook
The screen tower came down in an April 2022 windstorm, and the site has been dormant ever since. Rebuilding the screen sounded simple, but the land-use code stood in the way. The property is a non-conforming, grandfathered parcel that doesn't meet the county's current code. Until this spring, drive-in theaters weren't a recognized use anywhere in Teton County's land development code. Hedges, part-owner of MD Spud LLC and the group's redevelopment manager, has said those unclear grandfathered rights held back investment even as public support kept growing.
The fix was an ordinance. The county started work on it in September 2025 and held a pre-application conference that November. At a March 9 hearing, commissioners decided the proposal had to be written up as a formal ordinance, and they adopted it unanimously on April 29, 2026. Hedges summed up the pace in one phrase: "It's just it's like molasses."
At the April hearing, Nikki Richards of Valley Advocates for Responsible Development described the new use as coming "with overwhelming community support, screening requirements, fencing and lighting and sound controls." Support and standards moved through the process together, and that pairing is what the September permit built on.
The Ordinance Set the Ceiling. The Permit Set Tighter Limits.
The ordinance covers any drive-in in the county. The Spud's own permit then set specific numbers, and on several points they come in below what the ordinance allows.
| Item | County ordinance, April 2026 | Spud permit, September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Operating hours | 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. | 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week |
| Screen tower height | Up to 60 feet | 55.5 feet |
| Perimeter | Fully enclosed with code-compliant fencing | Privacy fence around the property, sound aimed toward the center of the site |
| Sewer | Must connect to a public wastewater facility | Driggs connection deadline extended to Feb. 6, 2028 |
The hours matter most. The ordinance would allow the screen to run until 2 a.m. The Spud agreed to stop at midnight. The ordinance also requires the screen to face away from the main public road, keeps lights off when the drive-in isn't operating, and allows a digital marquee on the back of the screen as long as it doesn't scroll or flash.
The sewer connection ties back to a longer history. Driggs first approved sewer service for the property in February 2024, capped at 13.5 equivalent residential units across the two parcels. That approval would have expired this past February without a connection application. Public Works Director Jay Mazalewski said the city consulted Victor about the extension, and Victor raised no objections.
Getting In Off Highway 33
Traffic got the most attention at the Sept. 14 hearing, and the solution changes how you'll arrive. The applicant studied the 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. window, when moviegoers arrive during the highway's own evening peak. The study found the site needs 38 queuing spaces for cars, assuming about 30 seconds per car while each driver shows a QR code and gets waved through.
The old front entrance won't be the way in. Incoming cars will use double queue lanes, fed by turn lanes on both the north and south sides of the highway and by a private drive. The applicant will get an access easement for that drive from the landowner, who supports the project.
"The goal is to make sure we aren't causing more traffic pain along the highway." Tom Hedges, at the Sept. 14 county hearing
Movies First, Concerts Within Limits
The event rules are where the new Spud differs most from its past. The permit sets up two types of events. Regular special events are limited to what on-site parking can hold. A "large special event," meaning anything expected to exceed that, requires a traffic management plan, an emergency operations plan and limits on amplified sound. Large events are capped at 12 days a year, and no single event can run more than three days in a row.
Jennifer Zung of Harmony Engineering told commissioners, "We don't plan to have another Widespread Panic event again."
Hedges said the plan is to start with two showings a night, Wednesday through Sunday, "and see where that takes us." Once the property is fully running, the team hopes to host up to 12 summer concerts plus fundraisers, community events and private parties. Hedges said the large majority of evenings will stay straightforward drive-in movie nights.
The permit approves an 8.59-acre site with the 55.5-foot screen tower, a restaurant and concession building of about 3,300 square feet, 10 campsites that were already approved, and more parking. Commissioners also recommended that the applicant consider adding employee housing. Earlier, Hedges described the campsites as Airstream trailers converted into four-season short-term rentals, meant to match the site's 1950s feel.
What Murph's Mountain Diner Will Serve
The food plan is the most ambitious part. In Hedges's words, the team is "going big." Murph's Mountain Diner will serve traditional concessions, ice cream and shakes, smash burgers, fries and onion rings, salads, and hand-fired pizzas. You'll be able to order at a window or through an app and have food brought to your car during the movie. A wraparound outdoor bar serving beer, wine and canned cocktails is also planned.
The diner's name points back to the Spud's best-known landmark. The giant potato sits on "Old Murphy," a 1946 Chevy flatbed. Vandals mashed the original potato in 1992, a sculpture made by its owner, Richard Wood, and a new one was sculpted to replace it. A.C. "Ace" Wood built the drive-in in the early 1950s, and Teton Valley News describes the Mumm family as running it from 1986 to 2022. The current chapter started in August 2023, when MD Nursery and Landscaping agreed to buy the property from Lenny Zaban.
The Timeline Hedges Has Laid Out
Hedges said the approvals came "over a year behind our original goal for breaking ground." These are the developer's target dates. None of them is guaranteed.
- Fall 2026: grading and infrastructure work, continuing as long as the weather allows.
- April 2027: construction resumes.
- May 2027: construction starts on the restaurant, bar and concession building.
- By August 2027: a soft opening of the theater, "hopefully sooner," with food trucks handling concessions.
- June 2028: Murph's Mountain Diner opens.
- Summer 2028: grand opening of the full property.
- Feb. 6, 2028: deadline to connect to the Driggs sewer system.
So far, no public update confirms that grading has started. Plan on the first summer back being movies with food trucks. The full diner and bar are a 2028 target.
Until Then, Pierre's in Victor
For now, the valley's movie screen is Pierre's Theatre at 37 N. Main St. in Victor. Its current schedule lists a Free Family Movie Night on Oct. 8 at 5 p.m., Heart of the Beast Oct. 9 through 11, the Ritual Mountain Bike Film Tour 26 on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m., Digger Oct. 16 through 18, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show Oct. 23 and 24. Schedules change, so check the theater's site before you go.
At the Sept. 14 hearing, Commissioner Ron James said, "The community wants this, it's good for the community." Hedges's request was a practical one: come to the Spud "as often as possible" once it reopens.
Drive-ins, diners and mountain views have always drawn people to this valley. If you'd like to talk about what projects like the Spud mean for your own place in Teton Valley, Melissa Biggs and her team are glad to help. Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll go over it together, one season at a time.
