Manager of world's last Blockbuster hasn't changed store since it opened

The last remaining Blockbuster in the world has remained pretty much exactly the same since the 1990s.

Going back a few decades, Blockbuster was a billion-dollar company with branches across the globe, but with the growth of the internet it fell by the wayside and as of March 2019, there’s just one store left, situated in Bend in Oregon.

Manager Sarah Harding, 51, has run the store for almost 20-years and says stepping inside is a little bit like stepping back in time.

As well as shelves upon shelves of DVDs to rent, the store also has movie memorabilia and posters dotted about the place, and customers can also grab themselves some sweets or popcorn to go with their movie.

The store was also the inspiration for the 2022 Netflix comedy series Blockbuster, which starred Randall Park and Melissa Fumero.

In an interview with The Sun, Sandi said customers feel nostalgic when they enter her store but admits that it’s a challenge running the last Blockbuster in the world.

She said: "People usually say how excited they are to come and see us.

"The store looks exactly the same, you walk in and get that Blockbuster feeling, we haven't really change anything. It all looks exactly how it was in the 90s.

"There's not a lot of need for rental and some people don't even have DVD players in their homes anymore so it's definitely a struggling business as far as the rentals go so we are fortunate to have the nostalgia piece and have the tourism and the T-shirts and our website now - without this we wouldn't be able to survive."

Sandi added: "We're just trying to keep that going for as long as we possibly can.

"We try to do fun things to remind people we're still here."

Blockbuster recently teased the public by reactivating its website and sharing a message that read: “We are working on rewinding your movie.” As yet, it’s unclear what, if anything, the company has planned but it certainly hasn’t stopped people speculating with some people suggesting it could be a big hint the brand is reopening stores.

Sandi told The Sun she’s ‘anxious’ about what the message could mean, but said it would be good if some new stores did pop up.

"It wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing to see a couple of stores open up,” she said.

"We got people coming in and talking about the nostalgia and how much they miss it and that it'd be nice to see another store opening.

"So it'd be nice to know we helped maybe weave out the things a little bit.”

Topics: Film and TV

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at UNILAD 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.