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Clinton Street Video, one of Portland's last remaining DVD rental stores, announced today that it will be closing shop next month.
"November will be our last month open and we want to say thank you to our customers for letting us be part of their lives for so long," owners Chris Slusarenko and Tina O'Neil said in a statement today. "We're proud that we were fiercely independent and ran it with much warmth."
Slusarenko and O'Neil say they opened independently-owned Clinton Street Video during a bank lending moratorium on video stores—which was due to an influx of big chains in the early '90s video rental market.
"The store was opened with credit cards and videos stockpiled in our house because we didn't have a space and no bank would give us a loan," they say. "It was what we were made to do. We were video bartenders and it ruled. But as you can imagine we cannot afford to remain open."
Starting next month, Clinton Street Video will be selling off all its product—including music, documentaries and foreign films. The store's last day is Nov. 17. And a free celebration party will take place Sunday, Nov. 18 from 1-3pm. Slusarenko and O'Neil promise "snacks, weird bits of film, hugs and good times."
After next month, Portlanders can still frequent the Southeast Portland staple Movie Madness, or venture to Bend, Ore. to patronize the nation's last Blockbuster.