It's the end of an era
+ READ ARTICLEThe last two remaining Blockbuster stores in Alaska are slated to close next week, leaving just one location of the once-iconic video rental store left in the U.S.
The stores, in Anchorage, Alaska, will officially close on Monday, July 16, Blockbuster Alaska said on its Facebook page on Thursday. They will reopen the next day, July 17, for inventory sales that will run through July and August.
“These are the last two Blockbuster stores in Alaska that survived and it is sad to say goodbye to our dedicated customers. We have thought of you as family for the past 28 years,” wrote District Manager Kelli Vey and General Manager Kevin Daymude in the Facebook post. “Thank you for sticking by us throughout all these years. I can’t tell you how much it means to us. We hope to see you at our stores during the closing, even if it’s just to say ‘Hello’. What a great time to build your media library and share some Blockbuster memories with us.”
The closings come after a number of other Blockbuster stores have shuttered in recent months. The company’s North Pole location closed in March, leaving only five locations left at that time. Now, the lone remaining Blockbuster store is in Oregon, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
While most states lost their Blockbuster locations years ago, Alaska had held onto the brand. And the Anchorage location had recently gotten national attention when Last Week Tonight host John Oliver sent the store a collection of Russell Crowe memorabilia, including the actor’s jockstrap from his 2005 film “Cinderella Man.”
Now, the managers told the Anchorage Daily News the memorabilia will likely go back to its owner, and residents will have to find their movies another way.
Correction: July 20, 2018
The original version of this story misstated the location of the two Blockbuster locations in Alaska. They are both in Anchorage, Alaska, not in College and Debarr.