• Allison Miles •
• Originally published October 19, 2010 at 10:51 p.m., updated October 19, 2010 at 10:51 p.m.

• Did you know?Movie Shoppe registered 47,506 customers since its beginning in 1987.

  Last chanceMovie Shoppe will remain open through Oct. 31 and has reduced its movie prices to sell.

  For more information, call 361-578-7068 or visit the ...

• SHOW ALL »

Did you know?Movie Shoppe registered 47,506 customers since its beginning in 1987.

Last chanceMovie Shoppe will remain open through Oct. 31 and has reduced its movie prices to sell.

For more information, call 361-578-7068 or visit the store at 1101 E. Airline Road.

A banner covered most of the blue and yellow sign outside Movie Shoppe, its message written in red: "Going out of business sale."

After more than 23 years in Victoria, Movie Shoppe is closing for good.

The close comes for a variety of reasons, such as chain movie stores, piracy and services like Netflix, owner Charles Sonberg said. A recent robbery also hurt the business.

"It just dropped below the point where it's feasible to stay open," he said. "Everything takes a bite out of the video business."

Movie Shoppe opened March 18, 1987 at 1101 E. Airline Road. Sonberg had been laid off from his work in the oil field and said he decided to venture out on his own.

In the beginning, the business offered 625 movies, he said, and drew in customers partly because it maintained longer hours than other stores and didn't charge membership fees.

Over time, it grew to offer almost 21,000 titles.

"This has kind of been home, seven days a week for years," he said. "The hurricane closed us a couple of days and we closed one Christmas, but that's it."

Friday nights were big at the shop, but that diminished as time wore on.

"We used to have eight people on a shift," Sonberg said. "Now, we don't really need one."

Todd and Carrie Parkinson perused movie titles Tuesday, looking to replace discs their two young children had scratched.

The Nursery couple have been long-time customers but hadn't been to the shop in some time, Todd Parkinson said.

"We've just been too busy," he said. "But what I like is that they have a lot of movies you don't see in other shops."

Elva Bahm, who has been with the company since its start, said the close is sad. Through the years, her children, nephews and even her grandson worked at the store.

"The kids all grew up here," she said, preparing markdown signs to go on the walls. "It was good while it lasted."

Company trips to Las Vegas for video conventions were among her favorite memories, she said, explaining she met stars such as Reba McEntire, Charlie Sheen and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

"I've enjoyed it," she said of her time with Movie Shoppe. "But video's going out the door. There's no way to stop it."

As for Sonberg, he isn't quite sure what the future holds.

He said he hopes to sell the building and has received several offers from people hoping to purchase the game room, but nothing has panned out yet.

In the meantime, he's selling off merchandise at reduced prices - 14,000 or 15,000 movies have already sold - and wrapping up loose ends.

The store's last day is Oct. 31.

Sonberg said he's ready for this new chapter in his life but admitted he would miss the customers and friends he made through the years.

"Every business is a person's dream," he said. "It's kind of sad."

• Print
• •
• Share
  • Share this item

    Send this to a friend

    Share on FaceBook

  • Grab the link

    Copy and paste the link:

  • Blog about it

    Blog about this page.

  • Close
• •
• 4 Comments
• •
• Favorite
• •
• Report error
  • Thank you for your submission.
    Error report or correction

    Contact name (optional) Contact phone/e-mail (optional)  

    
  • Close
• •