CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – Whether it’s a reward for a good newsletter or a part of a family’s routine each week, brick-and-mortar movie rental stores like Family Video are embedded in American culture. In a few weeks, almost all of them will disappear. This week, the parent company of Family Video announced that it will launch loans for the remaining 250 stores. For the remaining employees, the ongoing liquidation sales are the final act of dedication.
On Tuesday, Family Video’s parent company, Highland Ventures Ltd., announced that the end is coming for the 42-year-old brand. What started as a handful of small stores selling Betamax tapes four decades ago turned into 800 locations during the company’s heyday. The chain of stores that marked the Midwest made the transition and adopted every major media iteration, from Betamax to VHS to DVD and later Blu-ray. Once streaming began to gain popularity, Family Video adapted its business model to focus on smaller communities in the Midwest, using a sister company, Marco’s Pizza, as bait to attract more people to the door. .
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Family Video has survived a decade longer than the “Big 3”: Blockbuster, Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video. Highland Ventures CEO Keith Hoogland said in a press release that the pandemic has finally entered the company.
“I have to make the difficult announcement that we are closing all family video locations. The impact of COVID-19, not only on foot traffic, but also the lack of movie releases, pushed us to the end of an era,” Hoogland said in the release. “I am extremely grateful to our employees and customers who have contributed to the success of Family Video. Without you, we would not have been the last man in our industry.”
If the crew at Cuyahoga Falls is an indication, Hoogland is right.
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All but three of the parking spaces are empty. The lights are dim and the door is locked. The perfectly parallel lines of rectangular boxes envelop the display case like a belt. From the latest blockbuster to a decades-old classic, each of the hundreds of movies covering Family Video shelves has a sticker.
You can take one home, but you can’t return it. Rental days are over.
“Family Video has managed to stay about 10 years longer than other video stores,” said manager Annette Haynes. “I think that says something about the company. We tried our best to stay.”
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They tried hard to stay and now they are trying hard to say goodbye.
Haynes and two other employees, Gillian Adams and Rachel Sommer, are working to prepare the store for the rush of people looking for movies, games and very little tricks. The first day of “everything has to work” is always non-stop.
“I was here from opening to closing on Wednesday and we weren’t even open,” Sommer said. “We did it just to get ready for today.”
The three women can speak from experience. Sommer and Adams’ previous store was liquidated late last year. This is Haynes’ third liquidation.
“Especially from the memories I’ve made here both working and working, I don’t know what else I can do to fill the void,” Adams said.
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For Adams, closing the Cuyahoga Falls store is particularly difficult because it was the store she and her family frequented. This deep connection to the location and her loyal customers is why she wants to send it right, she said.
“It’s literally nothing else I’d want to do now,” Adams said. “I liked it every day.”
At noon, at the door, the doors are unlocked and the line of people gathered outside begins to flow. Offer hunters choose movies and games for sale, building towers with a height of 10, 15, 20 movies. One of the customers thinks aloud: “it’s a pity that it took until the store closed to get so many cars in the parking lot.”
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For those of a certain age, places like Family Video have keys that unlock memories that were once forgotten. Gathering a family to rent a movie was ingrained in American daily life. Family members had to compromise and settle on just a few titles. If the movie was already checked, you had to be patient and wait your turn. The seemingly archaic practice now was actually quite harmonious at the time.
“Here you come, where everyone comes. You go out to dinner and you come to get a movie. You would go home and watch it together as a family. The whole family would come,” Haynes said. “Friday night and Saturday night, we had four people working. We were so busy.”
However, the movies were just the icebreaker. In many small towns, the Family Video store would be a de facto hangout in the neighborhood. There has always been a chance to see your neighbor, friend or teacher there (for better or worse). When Haynes kills the lights and locks the door once more, those deep-rooted connections with her customers will be what stands out the most.
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“I would know their families and children. I watched as mothers are pregnant and had children,” Haynes said. “Their children will grow up in my store. Now, once this [store] he’s gone, I have nowhere to go. There is no other job coming. “
Haynes said her job at Family Video – “her funny job” as she calls it – will cease in a few weeks. It’s a daunting proposition, sure, but Haynes doesn’t think about it at all. In addition, he has some friends to say goodbye to.
“We’ve befriended many of our customers. It’s important to say goodbye to all of our customers to make sure they know we’re going to miss them,” Haynes said.
You can’t speed it up and you certainly can’t slow it down. All you can do is press play and be kind as you scroll back.