The only remaining Blockbuster Video store in the country is located in the parking lot of a gas station near a busy intersection in central Oregon. Just a decade ago, Blockbuster had 9,000 stores around the world, but after a steep decline in business during the 2000s, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and all but a handful of locations shut down. Two independent locations in Alaska finally closed in July, leaving just one store left.
The general manager of the remaining Blockbuster, Sandi Harding, talked to BBC about how her store survives in the age of digital streaming.
“The amount of attention has been absolutely crazy. The best stories are about the parents who bring their kids and are like: ‘This is what we used to do, we used to grab a movie and take it around.’ Or the ones talking about how they had their first dates going to Blockbuster,” she said, according to BBC.
Harding has seen people from around the world come to see her store.
“It doesn’t matter what color of skin, religion or political affiliation, everybody in the world has a happy feeling when they think about Blockbuster and it brings us all together,” Harding said to BBC. “I think that’s the nostalgia everybody is feeling and they’re trying to hold on to.”
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