America's last Blockbuster video store plans to hang on in Bend, Oregon after the second- and third-to-last ones call it quits in Alaska.
The stores in Anchorage and Fairbanks will close for rentals after Sunday night and reopen Tuesday for video liquidation sales through the end of August, said Kevin Daymude, general manager of Blockbuster Alaska.
"It's going to be crazy," Daymude said of the temporary reopening. He said residents were sad when they heard the news and many people have been reminiscing about their Blockbuster memories.
The news was announced to Alaskans on Blockbuster Alaska's Facebook page.
The closures come just two months after the host of HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" sent a jockstrap worn by Russell Crowe in the 2005 movie "Cinderella Man" and other items to the Anchorage store, which displayed it in an effort to ramp up business.
Daymude says the buzz from the Oliver connection brought more people to the store.
"You would not believe how much business we got just from that memorabilia alone," he said. "I can't thank John Oliver or his show enough."
But it wasn't enough to counter a planned lease increase at both Alaska locations.
In its heyday, Blockbuster had 15 stores in Alaska, Daymude said. Some stores in more remote, less populated parts of the state began closing in the early 2000s.
In recent years, Blockbuster stores have vanished in the rest of the U.S.
But their survival lasted longer in Alaska, with some crediting expensive internet as a factor in keeping many people renting videos rather than streaming.
"How exciting," said the Oregon store's general manager Sandi Harding about their new status. "It might end up being a little chaotic for a couple of weeks."
As for the fate of that store, the future looks good.
"We have no plans on closing anytime soon," Harding said.
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