Article by Jenns Mikkelsen. Photo by Jenns Mikkelsen
ST CLOUD, Minn. — If you make your way downtown, you’ll likely see a sign that stands out from the others. Although the Movies, Etc storefront looks like it could be the front of an old movie theater, inside you’ll find what was among the last video rental stores in the state of Minnesota.
Now, after 22 years, Movies, Etc is no longer renting movies, but selling all of its remaining inventory. General Manager, Lia Challberg, says there are still some 10,000 DVDs remaining across all kinds of genres. “There are still some really good classics in here, you know, you just got to find them.”
Among those rummaging through the stacks, you’ll find a customer base as diverse as the movie selection.
“I think that our location plays a big part, that we are on campus. We appeal to film majors, we also appeal to young couples the whole retro kind of trendiness of projectors and renting movies because it’s such an industry that’s going out of business,” said Challberg. “We’ve been getting a lot of our old customers that come in for movies and they’ll sit for sometimes an hour and they’ll go through every movie.”
Other customers may have only recently discovered the store, but have been here multiple times, saying it’s affordable and they can find things they can’t always get on subscription services like Netflix.
As of now, there is no scheduled closing date. But they plan to keep selling off their inventory at reduced prices, until it is gone.
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