Need a popcorn and movie fix? This Treasure Valley theater plans to open Friday.

Movie buffs nationwide were left holding an empty popcorn bag last month after theaters closed because of the coronavirus.

The popper gets fired up again this weekend in the Treasure Valley.

Parma Motor-Vu, located 45 minutes west of Boise, will open for the season — four weeks after its original planned date. The drive-in theater will screen a double feature of “Onward” (9:10 p.m., PG) and “The Call of the Wild” (11 p.m., PG) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“We’re just going to play it one week at a time,” spokesperson Karen Cornwell said, “and see how it goes.”

Despite Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s statewide stay-home order, drive-in theaters are allowed to operate “as long as social distancing requirements are followed at all times,” according to state guidelines, which also specify: “Participants should avoid leaving the vehicle, vehicle occupants should be limited to household members, and common facilities such as concessions and restrooms should be avoided. Transactions and reservations should be handled online or over the phone.”

Other Idaho drive-ins — The Spud in Driggs and Teton-Vu in Rexburg — already have opened during the pandemic. “They’ve been running without problems,” Cornwell said, “so that’s kind of where we’re at.”

“It’s no worse than going to Rite-Aid or the grocery store,” she said.

Parma Motor-Vu does not sell advance tickets but accepts payment through debit or credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or cash. Tickets are $8 for ages 12 and older, $7 for 62 and older, $3 for ages 4 to 11, free for 3 and younger.

Gates open at 8:30 each night. The drive-in, which sits on 5 acres at 29522 U.S. 95, has room for 225 vehicles. But because of social distancing, “we don’t feel like we can do that,” Cornwell said. “Hopefully, 150 maybe. It would be like two-thirds full if we do that.”

Cornwell, 82, whose father opened the drive-in in 1953, said she will work in the snack bar as a “popcorn girl.” She started at age 14 — and still lives in a house next door. “They have a hard time keeping me away from the place,” she said with a laugh.

The snack bar will offer a reduced menu of popcorn, drinks, candy, nachos, pickles and glow stuff. There will be one popcorn size: large. “It’s the old-fashioned box that closes,” Cornwell said. “We had a case, so we’re going to use that, which will keep the popcorn from being exposed to the world.”

Concession orders will be handled outdoors by Cornwell’s daughter, owner Susan Haaheim, and then relayed to the snack bar by employees. They will bring the food back to Haaheim. Restrooms will be limited to one person or family at a time, Cornwell said.

Dogs are welcome. If moviegoers exit their vehicles to sit in lawn chairs, there are no plans to reprimand them, Cornwell said. “Everybody’s pretty frightened about being too close to people, so I think they’ll do their own monitoring,” she said.

Snack bar employees will wear a mask and gloves, Cornwell said. After 68 years running the same, original Manley popcorn maker without her face covered, this weekend will be a different experience, she admitted.

“Never thought it would come to that,” Cornwell said. “It’s going to be bittersweet. I think of all the years, the interaction with customers. Not for this weekend.”

Parma Motor-Vu’s customers tend to be split between Idaho and Oregon, Cornwell said, adding, “We do see a lot of 1A plates” — meaning Ada County.

Predicting what turnout will be like during the COVID-19 outbreak is difficult.

“Sometimes I think we could just have them lined up clear to town, and then other times I’m not so sure,” Cornwell said. “I have no idea.”

Either way, Parma Motor-Vu can use the business, Cornwell said. She had wanted to open two weeks ago.

“Bills are coming in,” Cornwell said. “We’re used to being down all winter. But by now, we would have been running for a whole month. We’ve got a big Coke bill to pay. We didn’t know this was happening, or we wouldn’t have ordered all this Coke. Things like that. It’s all about money.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 3:55 PM.