Thursday, January 26, 2012

Blockbuster on East Boulevard closing

So, the signs have been up for a little while now, but I finally have time to post a quick note about this: The Blockbuster store at East Boulevard and Kenilworth Avenue is closing in a few weeks.

The store is selling off its inventory, and an employee says its last day of business will be Feb. 19th. Blockbuster is chopping hundreds of locations, since the chain declared bankruptcy and was bought for $320 million by satellite TV provider Dish Network.

The chain is trying to promote its Redbox-like rentals, a Netflix-like mail rental system, and on-demand streaming video to compensate for the decline in rentals from retail locations.

Blockbuster's closing is just one of several local retail changes underway on that stretch of East Boulevard. The Harris Teeter in Kenilworth Commons is in the midst of a major renovation and addition. And two new stores on East Boulevard across from the Blockbuster are now open as well: Modern Lighting and men's salon Shear Excellence.


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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you finally found time to post this.

Bono said...

To Anon 8:25...

Like he has to post this for you, butthead! Ely does a fine job with updating Charlotteans about the comings and goings in the area.

Like anyone gives a flying flip about you think. Apparently, you wanted this advertised? Well, then pay Ely for the Advertising, or walk around Blockbuster with a sign in your FN hand.

I, for one, am glad Ely told me, so I can go over there and see what they still have in stock to purchase.

Too bad YOU had time to post. Ely, keep up the great work and don't mind the negative comments from your jealous and empty-headed ex-girlfriends.

Anonymous said...

I am glad for the article. I rent movies from there on occassion and I had no idea they were closing. Now I have to drive further just to find a blockbuster that's still open.

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Anonymous said...

Buy a $50 roku device and rent movies from Amazon on Demand for $3.99 a shot. Save yourself the trouble of driving.

Anonymous said...

THE FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTS MY RACISM! THIS IS 'MRUICA! IF'N YOU DON'T LIKE IT YOU CAN GIT OUT!

Anonymous said...

When signs first went up, they said store closing...now they have ones that say store "moving". Not really sure where they would move to, unless it is talking about their kiosks...

Anonymous said...

They are probably moving to a kiosk at the convenience store across the street.

that's what she said...

buggy whips, typewriters, and dvd rentals.

classic products that time forgot. too bad blockbuster was clueless to see what was going on around them.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TrPwOrf4sM

Great story about Blockbuster on the Onion Network.

Anonymous said...

I like how Blockbuster is trying to spin the closing. There is a big banner stating "Store moving: blockbuster.com"...

Like they're moving to online, not closing. Gimme a break.

Anonymous said...

I liked that location. The employees were great to talk to about movies. Good luck!

Johnny W said...

Let's hope they remove the ELEVEN signs that say "BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO." This place has been an eyesore since it opened. Right, Murray? Not really a big loss IMO.

Ely Portillo said...

A quick note from the blogger:
Comments have been a problem on this blog for quite some time (actually, I think they've been a problem on the Internet in general, but I only get to oversee this tiny little slice of it). I've decided to disable anonymous comments, due to the sheer volume of racist, obscene posts and comments that personally attack other commenters. You can still comment on this blog, but from now on you'll need to be logged in to some form of Google Account or Open ID. Thanks for reading, and may cooler heads prevail.

Bono said...

Great Job, Ely!

Again, keep up the good work and we appreciate you working so hard to provide Charlotteans the most up-to-date information.