NORTH POLE (CelebrityAccess) A Blockbuster at North Pole, Alaska, one of the last stores in the once-thriving video rental chain, is closing its doors in April.
The store hasn’t changed much since its heyday in the 1990s, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. It still has popcorn, candy, and “the little plastic boxes sitting on rows on tall shelves,” according to the paper. General manager Kevin Daymude said that’s what people like about the place and customers bring their kids to the store to experience something from their own childhoods.
That leaves the Fairbanks Blockbuster Video store and three others in the state (Alaska has the larges cluster of Blockbuster Video stores in the country).
The Blockbuster is located on North Pole’s main street, Santa Claus Lane, and about 40 people waited outside March 15 to take advantage of the store’s liquidation sale, according to the paper.
Daymude said some customers had an emotional reaction with one woman even crying.
“That was our weekend thing,” a substitute teacher told the paper. She said had seen the Blockbuster stores shutter in her hometown and was excited to see one still open at the North Pole, visiting it regularly with her children.
“I’m glad that they got to experience it,” Bonis said.
Another person interviewed told the News-Miner she frequented the store once a week.
“We have Vudu and Amazon but we prefer to come here,” she said. “It’s nice to come with family and look at movies.”
