How the Last Blockbuster Store Became a Tourist Destination

The last Blockbuster store is in... Bend, Oregon, which seems like a random place for it be considering there were Blockbusters in major cities, but indeed the final retail location is in Bend. The store was originally opened by a couple named Ken and Debbie Tisher in 1992 as a local video rental store called Pacific Video. Eight years later, the couple decided to convert Pacific Video into a Blockbuster, and the rest is history.

Through the late 2000s and early 2010s as most Blockbusters were shutting down, the Bend store remained one-of-a-hundred, then one-of-fifty, then one-of-twenty-five, and finally one-of-one. It hasn't come without a cost though. Dish Network now owns the Blockbuster trademark, and they no longer grant usage of the name to new franchises. The only reason why the Bend location has been able to keep the store running as a Blockbuster legally is because they were previously granted permission to use it.

In order to keep the store going, the Tisher's have to license the trademark from Dish every year which we imagine probably isn't the cheapest expense. This, however, allows them to still sell and market Blockbuster merchandise which we imagine turns a profit. So perhaps it evens out.

The first Blockbuster in Dallas contained a total of 10,000 tapes (8,000 VHS and 2,000 Beta), and slowly began to expand as it became successful. In 1987, Blockbuster would be acquired by entrepreneurs Huizenga and John Melk who would then begin the rapid process of expansion taking Blockbuster from nineteen stores, to stores all across the nation. By the time the mid-1990s rolled around, Blockbuster was major multi-billion dollar entity thanks to its business deals and investments. Business kept growing and growing for Blockbuster, with the franchise hitting its peak in 2004.

As somebody who personally experienced Blockbuster as a kid in the 2000s, the store was a vibe and super fun. There would be dozens upon dozens of movies and video games that you could rent for different lengths of time. The VHS/DVD/video game covers would be in front, and if there were cases behind you, then the movie/game was in stock. If it was empty, you were out of luck and had to come back another time. Remember this was pre-streaming and being able to buy video games via the Playstation and Microsoft store, so there was no "getting at home" back then.

If you didn't want to bite the bullet and buy whatever game or movie you were looking for from the store (which most of the time was a no from our parents, hence the reason we were even in Blockbuster in the first place), it was a better luck next time situation.

The Bend Blockbuster still appears to be going strong. They've got a sizable following on Instagram, and with nostalgia continuing to rise amongst many people, it's quite possible they'll be around forever due to folks wanting to relive a great era of their life, or get a slight experience of something they never had. While we've never personally been to the location, a quick rundown of their IG shows it to be pretty much exactly how we remember Blockbuster to have been—a store surrounded with loads of videotapes, DVDs, video games, and merchandise.

Bend is managed by Sandy Harding, and is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 20. Blockbuster cards are still accepted, and the store is opened everyday from 10:30 AM - 9 PM.