We reread countless discs until our parents signed us up for Netflix's DVD service. Our local store closed in 2010, the year Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy protection, and less than a decade later, nearly all of Blockbuster's 9,000 stores followed suit. took.
There's only one blockbuster left on the planet these days. It's located in Bend, Oregon, about 1,320 miles from my home in Los Angeles.
But I've traveled far and wide for more silly reasons.
So my partner Liana (who loves DVDs even more than me) and I took a trip to Bend. Our journey there was fraught with significant delays and spanned 13 hours of travel in taxis, buses, planes, and rental cars, but it was all worth it when we caught a glimpse of the glowing yellow Blockbuster sign in the distance. I felt that there was.
Most of Bend's tourism revolves around the city's natural wonders, attracting people who love hiking, skiing, canoeing, and exploring the local terrain.
But Ken Tischer, who owns Blockbuster on Revere Street with his wife, Debbie, said the city is always full of movie buffs.
“For those of you who don’t know, Bend is a huge movie town,” Ken said in the 2020 documentary “The Last Blockbuster.”
Tishers opened its first video rental store as Pacific Video in the early 1990s. Business was so good that they opened two more stores, but when Blockbuster moved to town, he had one choice to survive. In 2000, the Revere Avenue store became a Blockbuster franchise.
Blockbuster as a chain reached its peak in 2004 with 9,000 stores worldwide. The company has closed thousands of stores over the years, with Bend Blockbuster becoming the last Blockbuster in the U.S. in 2018 (after two Alaska stores closed) and by April 2019 the world's became the only Blockbuster (after closing its second). – the last blockbuster in the suburbs of Perth, Australia has closed).
Bend Blockbuster general manager Sandy Harding has worked there since 2004. She watched the franchise's decline from the front lines, giving countless interviews and figuring out ways to keep the store stocked and relevant.
With the company's suppliers gone, Harding found a way to buy candy and snacks in bulk from Costco and print and laminate new membership cards. Most of her DVD vendors they have worked with have closed in the last few years, and the minimum order quantities for those that are still open are too high for her store.
“I'm back to buying everything at Walmart and Target because I can't afford to buy movies there,” Harding told me.
Thanks to the staff's DIY efforts, Harding estimates he still sees 500 to 1,000 customers on a weekend.
“It used to be all rental-driven, now it’s all tourism-driven,” Harding said. “So it’s a completely different experience.”
We arrived in Bend just before 7:30 p.m., exhausted but relieved that we hadn't missed the chance to soak up some retro movie magic. It was a sleepy Sunday night, so the restaurant was almost empty.
“The winter months used to be our breadwinner, so that was our busiest time of year, when people couldn't get out and travel,” Harding said. Ta. “Now it's the opposite, winter is quiet. That's why a lot of projects are completed at this time of year. Summer is busy anyway, so we all take time off to do things.”
Much of the store remains as it was in the early 2000s. The walls are lined with DVDs and VHS tapes for purchase or rental. The location's original triangular checkout counter has stood the test of time. And the staff still wears blue and yellow shirts (though they're not forced to wear retro polo shirts).
“The ticket T-shirts we have there are T-shirts that we always wear in this store for our employees,” Harding said of the ticket stub design on the shirts worn by employees. Ta. “But on the back it used to say 'Ticket to the Movies,' then it was 'The Last Ticket in America,' and now it's 'The Last Ticket on Earth.' ”
Rental rates remain affordable. The new releases cost $3.99, and the older DVDs cost just 99 cents. And these days, no one complains about late fees.
“Everyone now says, ‘Oh, I remember that,’ which is always funny,” Harding said. “You’d be surprised how many people are adamant about paying their late fees now to support the store.”
Naturally, rental fees and late fees are not enough to keep the store afloat. Harding estimates that 80 percent of the company's business comes from selling merchandise such as shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, postcards, key chains and popcorn-scented candles.
Harding wants to support her fellow Oregonians, so most of her products are made by local artisans.
“We take pride in the fact that we can source as much as we can here in town,” she said. “If we can’t have it manufactured in Bend, we’ll buy it through another small business.”
“People come in and look. [the merch] Then you remember why you got it. Because people smelled the candles and saw the T-shirts and thought, “Oh my god, this is it.” So It brings me back,” she added.
Looking down the aisles of Blockbuster, I felt like I was stepping into a memory. The space was still warm and comfortable, the snack and drink options were plentiful, and the staff clearly had great taste.
Inside the store, there are several things that will take visitors back to 2024. Some Russell Crowe costumes inherited from the closed Anchorage store sit next to a wall of blockbuster memorabilia and letters sent to the store. In one corner is a modest living room, reminiscent of the Airbnb experience the store offered in 2020. A guest book is also available at the checkout counter, where visitors can sign their name or leave a sentimental note.
“The other day I opened an account for someone from Seattle, and she said, 'We were on our way home and we had to stop and rent a movie.' I will mail it to you.”
— Sandy Harding, General Manager, Bend Blockbuster
“This little guest book has close to 30 signatures,” Harding said. “I’m looking forward to the day when I can actually sit down and review them all.”
The store welcomes visitors from all six habitable continents, allowing Harding to jump through the many states and countries people have traveled to. She tries to be as accommodating as possible to people passing through town looking for the complete rental experience.
“The other day I opened an account for someone from Seattle, and she said, 'We were on our way home and we had to stop and rent a movie.'” Mail I’ll send it back,” Harding said. She says, “Some people want the experience of renting a movie and returning it, so they just walk around outside and put it back in the return box.”
Leanna and I spent the night in Bend at an Airbnb with a DVD player, so we perused the shelves. Instead of pointlessly scrolling through a TV streaming app or trusting an algorithm to pick something for me, I looked at the wall of items my staff had selected for Valentine's Day and recommended the 2018 remake of A Star Is Born. I felt a kinship with Santana. ” and Aidan picked “Moonlight” and “Knocked Up.”
That feeling of connection is exactly what we're looking for when we visit an old-school video store.
“Video stores and movie theaters have always been like my church,” local critic Jared Lassick said in the documentary “The Last Blockbuster.” “They always felt like the place I would go to feel most like the gentle, normal human being I had always wanted to be.”
Leanna and I ended up renting the sci-fi comedy Gentlemen Broncos, directed by the guy who made Napoleon Dynamite, and the Tom Cruise-starring thriller Vanilla Sky. After grabbing some goodies, a locally brewed Blockbuster beer, and a respectable selection of candy and microwave popcorn, we were ready to check out.
I also received two membership cards along with the product. A little yellow and blue reminder that sits in our wallets, reminding us that we might have a chance to return someday.
Julia Carmel is a writer based in Los Angeles. You can follow me with X. @julcam.
