Blockbuster (Bend, Oregon)
{{Short description|Blockbuster video store in Bend, Oregon, U.S.}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Blockbuster
| image = The Last Blockbuster storefront.jpg
| image_size =
| image_caption = The storefront in 2022
| map_type =
| map_alt =
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| coordinates = {{Coord|44|4|2|N|121|18|13|W|display=inline,title}}
| alternate_names = The Last Blockbuster
| location =
| address = 211 NE Revere Avenue
Bend, Oregon
| location_city =
| opened_date = 1992 (as Pacific Video)
2000 (converted into Blockbuster franchise){{Cite news|date=March 18, 2019|title='We didn't want to give in': Bend Blockbuster is last in the world|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2019/03/we-didnt-want-to-give-in-bend-blockbuster-is-last-in-the-world.html|access-date=March 18, 2021|work=The Oregonian|agency=Associated Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022042706/https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2019/03/we-didnt-want-to-give-in-bend-blockbuster-is-last-in-the-world.html|archive-date=October 22, 2020|url-status=live}}
| owner = Ken Tisher
| affiliation =
| known_for = Last remaining Blockbuster retail store
| website = {{URL|https://bendblockbuster.com}}
}}
Blockbuster, colloquially known as the Last Blockbuster, is a video rental store in Bend, Oregon. In 2018, it became the last Blockbuster store in the United States; in 2019, it became the world's last remaining retail store using the Blockbuster brand.{{cite news|url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2020/01/credits-roll-on-nz-s-last-blockbuster-video-store.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021165435/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2020/01/credits-roll-on-nz-s-last-blockbuster-video-store.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 21, 2020|title=Credits roll on NZ's last Blockbuster video store|publisher=Newshub |date=January 31, 2020|first=Dan|last=Satherley}}{{Cite news|last=Stump|first=Scott|date=March 7, 2019|title=It's official: There's only one Blockbuster left in the world|website=Today|url=https://www.today.com/news/blockbuster-bend-oregon-now-last-one-world-t149962|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031034539/https://www.today.com/news/blockbuster-bend-oregon-now-last-one-world-t149962|archive-date=October 31, 2020}}{{Cite news|last=Horton|first=Alex|date=July 16, 2018|title='Why are you still here?': Inside the last Blockbuster in America|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/07/14/why-are-you-still-here-inside-the-last-blockbuster-left-in-america/|url-status=live|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020204908/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/07/14/why-are-you-still-here-inside-the-last-blockbuster-left-in-america/|archive-date=October 20, 2020}}{{Cite news|last=Hsu|first=Tiffany|date=March 7, 2019|title=The World's Last Blockbuster Has No Plans to Close (Published 2019)|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/business/last-blockbuster-store.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=March 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220023020/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/business/last-blockbuster-store.html|archive-date=February 20, 2021}}
History
File:Interior of last Blockbuster Video.jpgLocated at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and Revere Avenue, the Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon, was opened by Ken and Debbie Tisher in 1992 as the second location of Pacific Video, a small video rental store chain in the state.{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://bendblockbuster.com/about/|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2021|publisher=Blockbuster|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202085416/https://bendblockbuster.com/about/ |archive-date=February 2, 2020 }} They previously attempted to negotiate a location by a Shopko near U.S. Route 97.{{cite news |last1=Freeman |first1=Mike |title=Competition increases for local video stores |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2mAPAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA10 |access-date=March 6, 2024 |work=The Bulletin |publisher=The Bulletin |date=January 13, 1991 |page=C-1 |language=en}} In an interview with The Bulletin regarding his first store, Tisher stated that he wanted to approach the video business as a "mom-and-pop store". In 2000, Tisher converted it into a Blockbuster franchise store.{{Cite web|last=Pedersen|first=Nathan|date=January 22, 2021|title=Last Blockbuster Video Store in the U.S.|url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/last-blockbuster-video-store-in-the-us/|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2021|website=The Oregon Encyclopedia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812035957/https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/last-blockbuster-video-store-in-the-us/ |archive-date=August 12, 2020 }} Sandi Harding has been the general manager since 2004.{{Cite news|title=The last Blockbuster in America: How it survived while all others failed|url=https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/the-last-blockbuster-in-america-how-it-survived-while-all-others-failed/507-575016459|publisher=KGW|last=Pittman|first=Travis|date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721125755/https://www.kgw.com/article/news/nation-world/the-last-blockbuster-in-america-how-it-survived-while-all-others-failed/507-575016459|archive-date=July 21, 2018|url-status=live}}
Blockbuster LLC closed all of its corporate-owned stores by early 2014, leaving the Bend location as one of 50 remaining franchise stores.{{Cite news|date=November 6, 2013|title=Dish to close rest of its Blockbuster stores in US|work=Deseret News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.deseret.com/2013/11/6/20458772/dish-to-close-rest-of-its-blockbuster-stores-in-us|url-status=live|access-date=March 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319024707/https://www.deseret.com/2013/11/6/20458772/dish-to-close-rest-of-its-blockbuster-stores-in-us|archive-date=March 19, 2021}} In July 2018, it became the last remaining Blockbuster in the United States, and in March 2019, the last in the world.{{Cite magazine|title=There Will Only Be 1 Blockbuster in America Soon|last=Abrams|first=Abigail|date=July 12, 2018|url=https://time.com/5337725/last-blockbuster-america-oregon/|access-date=March 18, 2021|magazine=Time|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119062700/https://time.com/5337725/last-blockbuster-america-oregon/|archive-date=January 19, 2021|url-status=live}} Dish Network, the owner of the Blockbuster trademark, no longer grants new franchises with the Blockbuster name, which has cemented the Bend store's status as the last Blockbuster.{{Cite web|date=2021-03-20|title='The Last Blockbuster': Why You Can't Open Your Own Store Anymore|url=https://www.thewrap.com/the-last-blockbuster-why-you-cant-open-your-own-blockbuster-store-anymore/|access-date=2021-03-20|website=TheWrap|language=en-US}}
The location has become a popular tourist destination since becoming the last Blockbuster. Ken Tisher, who still owns the store,{{cite web |last1=Place |first1=Nathan |title=The true story of the world's last Blockbuster |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-last-blockbuster-netflix-oregon-b1817869.html |website=The Independent |date=March 16, 2021 |access-date=December 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703061236/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-last-blockbuster-netflix-oregon-b1817869.html |archive-date=July 3, 2021 |url-status=live}} continues to license the Blockbuster trademark from Dish Network on a yearly basis, which also allows the location to sell merchandise using the name. The store stocks around 1,200 titles and has an estimated 4,000 members who regularly rent movies.{{Cite web|last=Powers|first=Jenny|date=September 17, 2019|title=Be kind, rewind: The last Blockbuster on Earth is not only surviving, but thriving as a tourist destination|url=https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/last-blockbuster/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116033959/https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/last-blockbuster/|archive-date=January 16, 2021|access-date=March 18, 2021|website=Roadtrippers}}{{Cite news|last=Harding|first=Sandi|date=May 17, 2019|title=Experience: I manage the last Blockbuster in the world|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/may/17/i-manager-the-last-blockbuster-store-in-the-world|access-date=March 18, 2021|work=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207063445/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/may/17/i-manager-the-last-blockbuster-store-in-the-world|archive-date=February 7, 2021|url-status=live}}
In 2018, 10 Barrel, a local brewery, released a dark ale celebrating the store, named The Last Blockbuster (with flavor hints of red licorice);{{Cite web|last=Kryza|first=Andy|date=August 27, 2018|title=The Last Blockbuster Video Is Getting Its Own Craft Beer|url=https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/last-blockbuster-releases-craft-beer-10-barrel|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111204236/https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/last-blockbuster-releases-craft-beer-10-barrel|archive-date=November 11, 2020|website=Thrillist}} it was released at a block party celebrating the store (when it had become the last in the U.S.). The Ellen DeGeneres Show visited the store for a prank hidden camera segment in May 2019 (when it had become the last Blockbuster in the world).{{Cite web|title=Kevin the Cashier at the Last Blockbuster|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87GKDg5Q9Ws|language=en|date=May 6, 2019|via=YouTube|access-date=2021-03-20}} The store is the subject of the 2020 documentary film The Last Blockbuster, created by Bend filmmakers and featuring various celebrities, such as Kevin Smith, Brian Posehn, and Ione Skye; which was released on DVD and VHS and made available for streaming on Netflix.{{Cite news |last=Jasper |first=David |date=June 25, 2020 |title=Talking blockbusters with 'The Last Blockbuster' filmmaker |work=The Bulletin |url=https://www.bendbulletin.com/coronavirus/talking-blockbusters-with-the-last-blockbuster-filmmaker/article_6810ed0c-b1a4-11ea-9563-2bd2186e954a.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006075650/https://www.bendbulletin.com/coronavirus/talking-blockbusters-with-the-last-blockbuster-filmmaker/article_6810ed0c-b1a4-11ea-9563-2bd2186e954a.html |archive-date=October 6, 2020}}{{Cite news|last=Turnquist|first=Kristi|date=March 9, 2021|title='The Last Blockbuster' documentary, about Bend video store, is coming to Netflix in 'an ironic twist of fate'|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2021/03/the-last-blockbuster-documentary-about-bend-video-store-is-coming-to-netflix-in-an-ironic-twist-of-fate.html|work=The Oregonian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310233226/https://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/2021/03/the-last-blockbuster-documentary-about-bend-video-store-is-coming-to-netflix-in-an-ironic-twist-of-fate.html|archive-date=March 10, 2021|url-status=live}}File:The Last Blockbuster lawn.jpg
The store continued to operate without laying off staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/film/the-worlds-last-remaining-blockbuster-store-still-open-despite-coronavirus-pandemic-2668617|last=Aubrey|first=Elizabeth|title=The world's last remaining Blockbuster store still open despite coronavirus|date=May 14, 2020|work=New Musical Express|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126194845/https://www.nme.com/news/film/the-worlds-last-remaining-blockbuster-store-still-open-despite-coronavirus-pandemic-2668617|archive-date=January 26, 2021|url-status=live}} It hosted sleepovers via Airbnb in September 2020, limited to residents of Deschutes County and four people from the same household.{{Cite news|title=World's last Blockbuster transforms into '90s-themed Airbnb|last=Madani|first=Doha|date=August 11, 2020|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/world-s-last-blockbuster-transforms-90s-themed-airbnb-n1236476|publisher=NBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310130738/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/world-s-last-blockbuster-transforms-90s-themed-airbnb-n1236476|archive-date=March 10, 2021|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Chin|first=Monica|date=August 17, 2020|title=The world's last Blockbuster is now open for slumber parties|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/17/21372440/blockbuster-video-store-airbnb-location-price-movies-booking|work=The Verge|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207142230/https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/17/21372440/blockbuster-video-store-airbnb-location-price-movies-booking|archive-date=February 7, 2021|url-status=live}}
The store was featured as a central plot point in the second episode of the 21st season of Family Guy, titled "Bend or Blockbuster".{{Cite web |last=Bambino |first=Samantha |date=2022-10-03 |title=Does The Bend, Oregon Blockbuster From Family Guy Season 21 Episode 2 Actually Exist? - Looper |url=https://www.looper.com/1035645/does-the-bend-oregon-blockbuster-from-family-guy-season-21-episode-2-actually-exist/ |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=Looper.com |language=en-US}} The Netflix sitcom Blockbuster (2022), starring Randall Park and Melissa Fumero, is based on a fictionalized version of the last-remaining Blockbuster.{{cite web|url= https://deadline.com/2021/11/randall-park-blockbuster-video-store-comedy-series-netflix-from-superstore-duo-david-caspe-1234876166/|title=Netflix Gets Last Laugh With Blockbuster Video Store Comedy Series Starring Randall Park|date=November 18, 2021|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=October 8, 2022}}
In 2023, the store released a commercial on Instagram which first ran at the same time as the Super Bowl LVII halftime show. The ad features a lone cockroach journeying across the aftermath of an apparent global catastrophe until it arrives at the last Blockbuster, which is still open.{{Cite web |last=Haring |first=Bruce |date=2023-02-11 |title=Blockbuster Video Will Run An Ad During The Super Bowl |url=https://deadline.com/2023/02/blockbuster-video-will-run-ad-during-the-super-bowl-1235256854/ |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kavilanz |first=Parija |date=2023-02-12 |title=The last surviving Blockbuster has an Instagram ad timed for the Super Bowl |url=https://www.cnn.com/sport/live-news/super-bowl-2023-eagles-chiefs/h_10966a4c1346fce28db245f6d2ee540e |access-date=2023-02-13 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2023-02-12 |title=The Official Last Blockbuster on Instagram: 'For those of you that missed our live screening…' |url=https://www.instagram.com/reel/ColesqCAJWz/ |access-date=2023-02-13 |website=Instagram |language=en}} The store saw an uptick in sales following the ad's release.{{Cite web |last=Mayfield |first=Blake |date=2023-02-28 |title=World's Last Blockbuster in Bend still seeing surge in sales, visitors sparked by online Super Bowl ad |url=https://ktvz.com/news/bend/2023/02/28/worlds-last-blockbuster-in-bend-still-seeing-surge-in-sales-visitors-sparked-by-online-super-bowl-ad/ |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=KTVZ |language=en-US}}
In 2024, it was estimated that about 80% of the store's income comes from selling merchandise. Because the majority of the DVD vendors that provided them with movies are now closed, and the remaining ones have minimum orders that are far too large for a single store, all new movies come from Walmart and Target.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2024/04/06/last-blockbuster-bend-oregon/|title=A trip to the last Blockbuster on Earth|last=Carmel|first=Julia|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 6, 2024|access-date=November 18, 2024}}
Memorabilia
The store displays several pieces of film memorabilia that formerly belonged to actor Russell Crowe, including his hood from Robin Hood (2010), his robe and shorts (but not his jockstrap) from Cinderella Man (2005),{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/russell-crowe-gets-his-jockstrap-back-elaborate-last-week-tonight-heist-1162561|title=Russell Crowe Gets His Jockstrap Back in Elaborate 'Last Week Tonight' Heist|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=November 21, 2018|language=en|archive-date=November 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121203859/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/russell-crowe-gets-his-jockstrap-back-elaborate-last-week-tonight-heist-1162561|url-status=live}} his vest from Les Misérables (2012), and director's chairs from American Gangster (2007). The pieces were given to the store by the last operating Alaskan Blockbuster in Anchorage following its closure in July 2018. The items were originally donated to the Alaska store for an April 2018 segment of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.{{Cite news|last=Spurr|first=Kyle|date=September 20, 2018|title=Bend filmmakers document the last Blockbuster|url=https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/bend-filmmakers-document-the-last-blockbuster/article_adb2bcbf-1d62-5b80-8574-49c8d044ba37.html|access-date=March 18, 2021|work=The Bulletin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210013952/https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/bend-filmmakers-document-the-last-blockbuster/article_adb2bcbf-1d62-5b80-8574-49c8d044ba37.html|archive-date=February 10, 2021|url-status=live}}
See also
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References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Oregon}}
- [https://bendblockbuster.com/about/ https://bendblockbuster.com/]
{{Blockbuster}}
{{Video rental shops}}
{{Bend, Oregon}}
Category:1992 establishments in Oregon