CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio – Whether it was a reward for a good report card or a part of a family’s routine every week, movie rental companies like Family Video are ingrained in American culture. In a matter of weeks, almost all of them will be gone. This week, the Family Video parent company announced that it would launch credits at its remaining 250 stores. For employees who remain, the liquidations now underway are the final act of dedication.
On Tuesday, Family Video’s parent company, Highland Ventures Ltd., announced that the end of the 42-year-old brand was coming. What started out as a handful of small stores selling Betamax tapes four decades ago turned into 800 locations during the company’s peak. The chain of stores that successfully marked the Midwest made the transition and adopted all major media iterations, from Betamax to VHS to DVD and later Blu-ray. After streaming began to gain popularity, Family Video adjusted its business model to focus on smaller communities across the Midwest, using a sister company, Marco’s Pizza, as bait to attract more people.
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Family video has survived a decade longer than the ‘big 3’: Blockbuster, Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video. Highland Ventures CEO Keith Hoogland said in a press release that it was the pandemic that finally killed the company.
“I have to make the difficult announcement that we are going to close all Family Video rentals. The impact of COVID-19, not only on pedestrian traffic, but also in the absence of movie releases, has brought us to the end of an era,” said Hoogland at the launch. “I am extremely grateful to our employees and customers who were instrumental in the success of Family Video. Without you, we would not have been the last man in our industry.”
If the crew at the Cuyahoga Falls site is any indication, Hoogland is right.
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All but three parking spaces are empty. The lights are dim and the door is locked. Perfectly parallel lines of rectangular boxes wrap the showcase like a belt. From the latest blockbuster to a decades-old classic, each of the hundreds of films that line the shelves of Family Video has a sticker.
You can take one home, but you cannot return it. The rental days are over.
“Family Video has managed to last 10 years longer than other rental companies,” said manager Annette Haynes. “I think that says something about the company. We try our best to stay.”
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They did their best to stay and are now doing their best to say goodbye.
Haynes and two other employees, Gillian Adams and Rachel Sommer, are working to get the store ready for the flow of people looking for movies, games and knickknacks at huge discounts. The first day of ‘everything must go’ is always non-stop.
“We were here from open to closing on Wednesday and we hadn’t even opened,” said Sommer. “We did it just to prepare for today.”
The three women can speak from experience. Sommer and Adams’ previous store was wound up last year. This is Haynes’ third settlement.
“Especially after the memories I made here working and not working, I don’t know what else I can do to fill that void,” said Adams.
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For Adams, closing the Cuyahoga Falls store is especially difficult because it was the store she and her family frequented frequently. This deep connection with the place and its loyal customers is why she wants to send everything the right way, she said.
“There is literally nothing else I would like to do now,” said Adams. “I loved it every day.”
At sharp noon, the doors are unlocked and the line of people gathered outside begins to enter. Gift hunters choose the films and games for sale, building towers 10, 15, 20 films high. One of the customers thinks out loud: “a pity it took until the store closed to get so many cars in the parking lot.”
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For those of a certain age, places like Family Video hold the key to unlock memories that were once forgotten. Getting the family together to rent a movie was ingrained in the daily lives of Americans. Family members had to commit and decide on just a few titles. If the movie was already checked out, you had to be patient and wait your turn. The practice that seems archaic now was actually quite harmonious at that time.
“This is where you come from, where everybody comes from. You go out to dinner and come and get a movie. You go home and see it together as a family. The whole family would come,” said Haynes. “On Friday and Saturday nights, we had four people working. We were very busy.”
The films were just the icebreaker. In many small towns, the family video store would be the de facto meeting point for the neighborhood. There was always a chance to see your neighbor, your friend or your teacher there (for better or worse). When Haynes turns off the lights and locks the door again, those deep-seated connections with your customers will be the most prominent.
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“I would like to meet families and their children. I watched mothers pregnant and having children, ”said Haynes. “Their children would grow up in my store. Now, when that [store] gone, there is nowhere for me to go. There is no other job coming. “
Haynes said her work on Family Video – her “fun job” as she calls it – will be gone in a matter of weeks. It’s a scary proposition, to be sure, but Haynes is by no means focusing on it. In addition, she has some friends to say goodbye.
“We became friends with many of our customers. It’s important to say goodbye to all of our customers to make sure they know we’ll miss them, ”said Haynes.
You can’t speed up time and you certainly can’t slow it down. All you can do is press play and be gentle when going back.