With cyclosis promptly becoming the new measure in movie - observation , the majority oftoday ’s youngsterswill never know the joy that come with a Friday night visit to the localBlockbuster Videostore . Nor will they understand the inherent drama such an pleasure trip could bring : “ Ooh , lookHocus Pocusis on VHS ! Oh no , that kid catch the last copy ! ” That already - tiny number is about to wither even further with the proclamation that Alaska ’s North Pole Blockbuster , one of only an estimate eight computer storage left in the U.S. , is closing its doors .
The promulgation was made on Monday good afternoon via the storehouse ’s Facebook page , which give thanks its employee for their service :
TheFairbanks Daily News - Minerspoke with Kevin Daymude , the store ’s ecumenical managing director , who point to worsen sales as the reason for the shuttering . “ Do we have a great clientele ? Yes , without a doubt , ” Daymudesaid . “ It just declined . ”
WhileBlockbuster Videofiled for bankruptcy in 2010 , the sword continued to license its iconic blue - and - chicken slate counterfoil logotype to franchisees , the majority of which are located in Alaska . Why Alaska ? Lack of broadband and high Internet price tags in the country mean that streaming content is n’t as unproblematic as just pointing and clicking .
“ A destiny of [ the stores ] are still quite busy , ” Alan Payne , a Blockbuster licensee - proprietor who owns a handful of the few stay stores in the U.S.,toldThe Washington Postin 2017 . “ If you went in there on a Friday night you ’d be shocked at the turn of hoi polloi . ”
before this year Payne was force to close up his Edinburg , Texas store , thelast Blockbusterin Texas , which had been operating since the nineties . But Alaska wo n’t be Blockbuster - free anytime presently . Even with the North Pole store ’s closing , there are still four remaining locations in Alaska .
While the North Pole store ceased its rental military operation on Sunday , it will remain open through April while it sells off its stock list of film and fixtures . The only motion is whether there ’s aVHS copyofJerry Maguiresomewhere in there .
