A community hub closing

WASILLA — Faster internet did not kill the video store — at least, not this one. The Wasilla Blockbuster will officially be closed March 4. The video rental franchise has seen steady decline since 2013, but this relic of a time passed on, stayed profitable in the Wasilla location for 26 years because of the community.

The news began to be disseminated last Friday that Wasilla would lose its Blockbuster franchise, one of six left in the state, all owned by Alan Payne. The store rented its final video Sunday night, and opened its inventory sale a day early on Tuesday.

The store had first opened its doors on Christmas Eve 1991, and it seems that the closing is not due to lack of business. Early Tuesday, the inventory sale had the store full of customers, both new and returning, to take advantage of the deals. By Wednesday at noon, chaos had ensued.

“There were at least 70 people by 12:30 p.m. I went in for three movies, and stood in line for just under an hour, I wanted a piece of blockbuster memorabilia,” said Kitty Mahoney. “There were probably 100 people when I left. The gold section was pretty much wiped out but there are some aisles like horror and action where there’s still a ton of stuff left. Everyone was talking in line, one kid behind me had to wait in line twice because he grabbed the cover cases that didn’t have DVD’s in them. He said he had never been to blockbuster before!”

"Netflix takes things off. You have to get all of them, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, just to get close to covering what Blockbuster has. I'm going to miss it very much. It was a place of memories. My older would always bring us here to get a movie and the candy you can't find anywhere else," said Jessilynn Ezell

A walk down the aisles of a store, many in 2018 may find irrelevant reveals hidden nostalgia and a declining impulse control. While the accessibility of streaming video services may offer easier access, the endless variety of antique entertainment is more than enough to draw a crowd. Others came for the experience of renting the movie, not predisposed to a particular flick. Many came to stock up on snacks.

General Manager Kevin Daymude runs all the stores in the state. He says that his employees are like ‘spirit guides’ to Friday night on the sofa with a box of popcorn. He is disheartened at the loss of the community within the store, but hopes the best for his employees. After all, Blockbuster employees offer in-person and personal advice and opinion on viewing options the Internet simply can’t replace.

"Customer service is huge. Any job you have, you have to have customer service. Forty percent of the customers are going to come in not knowing what they want. They want some entertainment, that's our job. What do they like, is it action, drama, or comedy? We physically go out there and show them, give them what we like and that's what they rely on," said Daymude.

Daymude has been with Blockbuster since 1991. He quickly points out his favorite movies as old westerns. He knows exactly which chocolate his wife prefers when they watch a movie, and what popcorn to get. Daymude says he has a huge collection, and Blockbuster offers many titles unavailable on popular streaming sites. While the rest of the country may have long forgotten about Blockbuster, many residents of Wasilla are outraged, telling Daymude they won't know what to do on Friday night if they can't peruse movie titles to watch later. Customers who would frequent the store on weekdays during the daytime and have long conversations about what to watch will have to go elsewhere.

"Just the talking to them, the closeness. It's like a family. As strange as it sounds they're like a family," said Daymude.

There are two Blockbusters each in Fairbanks and Anchorage, and one in Soldotna.

Kristen Bowman filled a cart with cheesy movies until it nearly overflowed. She gets frustrated with slow internet that interrupts the film, and wants to have something to hold. She picks up all the classics she saw as a child that she says she can't find anywhere else.

"I found Air Bud the original, Jonas Brothers, the concert series, Flubber, Freaky friday. They've got Spy Kids. High school musical 1,2, and 3. I did find some Game of Thrones, too," said Bowman.

While Bowman came to the store for the first time in years to take advantage of the sales, most knew what they were looking for because they had been in so recently. Carol Jones filled two large cardboard boxes with tv shows, and was not done there.

"I'm going to watch all the movies that I've got here. That's my second box," said Jones. "Oh goodness, I started coming when we first got our dvd player, or even before that, because back when they had VCR's, you had to rewind your tape!"