World's Last Blockbuster Store Still Open For Business Despite Pandemic

The world's last Blockbuster video store is still open, despite the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The store in Oregon became the world's last ever Blockbuster more than a year ago following the closure of branches in Alaska and Perth in Australia.

Now, you'd think with the pandemic and the popularity of streaming services, such as Netflix and Disney+, that the store would be having a rough time, but it's still welcoming customers.

Instagram/blockbusterbend

Speaking to Vice when the crisis was still in its early days, general manager Sandi Harding said: "Everybody would be converging in the same area, everybody wanted to see the John Oliver stuff, or everybody wanted to go to the new release section.

"I wasn't able to keep people apart, and I thought, 'Well, this isn't going to work.'"

So, Harding decided in order to survive, and best serve her loyal customers, had to change the way the shop operates. She closed up for a couple of days and set to work on a plan to make sure customers would be kept safe - she initially offered up a roadside pick-up service, where customers could ring up, put in their order and then pick up their freshly sanitised DVD inside a sealed plastic bag.

However, as time went on, Harding said she felt confident opening up her store and now allows a maximum of 10 customers inside a time. Staff has taped social distancing reminders and arrows to the floor to help keep customers safe

Harding told Vice that her regular customers are delighted that she's kept the store open, saying: "I had a customer come in and she said, 'I am so grateful that you reopened, because I couldn't flip through Netflix one more time.'"

Although the pandemic has led to a bit of a dip in custom, Harding insists the store won't be going anywhere, adding: "The longer it goes on, the more stress there is for everyone, and the more I'm like, 'Oh gosh, can we really sustain this?'

"But we're still making plans and pushing forward and we're the last one for a reason. We don't go down without a fight. So we're going to keep fighting for a while."

Topics: Coronavirus, US News

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19