We went through countless discs before my parents signed up for Netflix's DVD service. Our local store closed in 2010 — the year the business became wildly successful filed for bankruptcy — and less than a decade later, nearly all of Blockbuster's 9,000 stores had followed suit.
These days there's only one A blockbuster left on Earth. It's in Bend, Oregon, about 820 miles from my home in Los Angeles.
But I traveled further for dumber reasons.
So I took a trip to Bend with my partner, Reanna (who loves DVDs even more than I do). Our trip there involved a significant delay that took 13 hours of travel – by taxi, bus, plane and rental car – but it was worth it when we spotted the bright yellow Blockbuster sign in the distance.
Most of Bend's tourism revolves around the city's outdoor wonders, attracting fans of hiking, skiing, canoeing, and exploring the local terrain.
But the town has always been populated by movie buffs, according to Ken Tisher, who owns the Blockbuster on Revere Avenue with his wife Debbie.
“For those who don’t know, Bend is a huge movie town,” Ken said in the 2020 documentary.The latest blockbuster.”
The Tishers opened their first video rental store under the name Pacific Video in the early 1990s. As their business grew, they opened two more locations, but when Blockbuster moved into town, they didn't have only one option to survive: they transformed the Revere Ave store into a Blockbuster franchise in 2000.
As a chain, Blockbuster reached its peak in 2004, when there were 9,000 locations worldwide. The company has closed thousands of locations over the years, making the Bend Blockbuster the last blockbuster in the United States in 2018 (after two stores in Alaska closed), and the only one in the world in April 2019 (after the penultimate blockbuster in a suburb of Perth, Australia, closed).
Sandi Harding, the general manager of the Bend Blockbuster, has worked there since 2004. She has watched the franchise's decline from the front lines, giving countless interviews and figuring out how to keep the store stocked and relevant.
Since there is no longer a corporate supplier, Harding buys candy and snacks in bulk at Costco and figured out how to print and laminate new membership cards. Most of the DVD sellers they've worked with have closed their doors over the years, and those that are still open have minimum orders that are way too high for his store.
“I can't afford to buy movies through them, so I'm going back to buying 100 percent of everything at Walmart and Target,” Harding told me.
The staff's DIY efforts are paying off: Harding estimates they still see between 500 and 1,000 customers over the course of a weekend.
“Everything is tourism-driven now, whereas before it was all rental-driven,” Harding said. “So it’s a totally different experience.”
We arrived in Bend a little before 7:30 p.m., exhausted but relieved that we hadn't missed our chance to indulge in some retro movie magic. It was a sleepy Sunday evening, so the store was almost empty.
“The winter months were our livelihood, that’s when we were busiest: when people couldn’t go out or travel,” Harding said. “Now it’s the opposite, winter is calm. So at this time of year we do a lot of projects. We all take vacations and do things, because summer is when we're really busy.
Most of the store dates straight from the early 2000s: the walls are lined with DVDs and VHS tapes to buy or rent; the original triangular crate of the place has stood the test of time; and employees always wear blue and yellow shirts (although they are not required to don them). retro polo shirts).
“The ticket tee that we are offering is the T-shirt that we have always had here at the store for our employees,” Harding said, referring to the ticket stub design on the shirts its employees wear. “But on the back it said 'your ticket to the cinema', then it was 'the last one in America', and now it's 'the last one on the planet'.”
Rentals remain reasonably priced: new releases cost $3.99 and older DVDs cost just 99 cents. And these days, no one complains about late fees.
“Now everyone’s like, ‘Oh man, we miss that,’ which is always funny,” Harding said. “You'd be surprised how many people insist on paying their late fees now to support the store. »
Unsurprisingly, rentals and late fees aren't enough to keep the store afloat. Harding estimates that 80 percent of his business comes from selling merchandise, including T-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, postcards, key chains and popcorn-scented candles.
Most of these products are made by local artisans, as Harding wants to support his fellow Oregonians.
“We pride ourselves on being able to source as much as possible from here in town,” she said. “If we can’t get them made in Bend, we buy them through another small company.”
“People come in and see (the products) and then I remember why we have them, because people smell the candle or see the t-shirt and they're like, 'Oh my God, that SO brings me back,” she added.
Walking through the aisles of Blockbuster, I felt like I was walking into a memory. The space was always warm and comforting, the snack and drink options were plentiful, and the staff clearly had good taste.
There are a few items in the store that take visitors back to 2024: Some Russell Crowe costumes – passed down from the closed store Anchorage Store – sit next to a wall of Blockbuster memorabilia and letters sent to the store. A modest living room occupies one corner, recalling the Airbnb experience the store was offered in 2020. The cash register also has a guestbook, so visitors can sign their name and leave sentimental notes.
“I opened an account the other day for someone from Seattle, and she said, 'We're on our way home, but we had to stop and rent a movie.' I will mail it back to you.
— Sandi Harding, Bend Blockbuster general manager
“We’ve signed almost 30 of these little golden books,” Harding said. “I actually look forward to the day when I can sit down and go through them all.”
The store has welcomed visitors from all six habitable continents, and Harding can list many states and countries from which people have traveled. She tries to be as accommodating as possible for those passing through town and wanting the full rental experience.
“I opened an account the other day for someone from Seattle, and she said, 'We're on our way home, but we had to stop and rent a movie.' I’ll mail it back to you,” Harding said. “Sometimes people just do it, walk outside and put it back in the drop box, just because they want the experience of renting the movie and returning it.”
Reanna and I spent a night in Bend in a Airbnb with a DVD player, so we took our time browsing the shelves. Instead of scrolling through a streaming app on my TV or trusting an algorithm to choose something, I stared at a wall of staff picks for Valentine's Day, feeling a kinship with Santana, who recommended the 2018 remake of “A Star is Born”. “, and Aidan, whose choices included “Moonlight” and “Knocked Up”.
That feeling of connection is really what we're looking for when we visit an old-school video store.
“Video stores and movie theaters always felt like they were my church,” Jared Rasic, a local critic, said in the documentary “The Last Blockbuster.” “They’ve always felt like they’re the place I go to feel most like the calm, normal human being I’ve always wanted to be.”
Reanna and I ultimately decided to rent “Gentlemen Broncos,” a sci-fi comedy directed by the man who directed “Napoleon Dynamite,” and “Vanilla Sky,” a thriller starring Tom Cruise. After purchasing products, a locally brewed coffee Successful beer and a respectable assortment of candy and microwave popcorn, we were good to go.
We also received two membership cards with our merchandise; little yellow and blue reminders that hang around in our wallets and remind us that we might have the chance to return there one day.
Julia Carmel is a writer based in Los Angeles. You can follow them on X: @julcarm.
correction
A photo caption incorrectly stated that a visitor was from Cambi, Oregon. He was from Canby, Oregon. This article has been corrected.
