World's last Blockbuster in Oregon celebrates after stolen sign gets replaced for free
The lawn sign that was stolen from the world's only Blockbuster video rental store in Bend, Oregon. (Credit: Sandi Harding)
BEND, Ore. - The world's only Blockbuster store in Bend, Oregon, is happy to have their lawn sign back after it was recently stolen.
General Manager Sandi Harding said the sign, which depicted a Blockbuster ticket with a finger pointing towards the store, went missing earlier this month.
Worried that police wouldn't investigate the crime, she posted about the missing sign on the store's Instagram page, hoping to get leads.
"We just want our sign back because it's so important to our community and important to all of us," Harding told FOX Television Stations. "We were just bummed that no one stepped forward."
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Harding said the sign held sentimental value because it's been the same place for at least 20 years, when she started working at the store.
This photo taken on July 26, 2020 shows the interior of the last remaining Blockbuster store, in Bend, Oregon. (Photo by ANDREW MARSZAL/AFP via Getty Images)
Fortunately, a local business, Carlson Sign, made the original sign and had the same file to make another one for free.
"They were able to recreate the sign for us, and they did it for free and brought it down and replaced it," Harding added.
Harding said being the last-remaining Blockbuster store has garnered a lot of attention, but usually it's mostly positive.
She said she's not sure why someone would steal the sign.
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"I would assume somebody just wanted to take a piece of nostalgia," she continued. "This kind of hits us in the heart a little bit more because we just get so many positive, warm, messages from people., and it's just disheartening sometimes when you see there really are some mean people out there."
Blockbuster’s first store opened on Oct. 19, 1985, in Dallas and grew to become a major video rental chain in the U.S. and in a few international markets, according to History.com.
The International Business Times reports that Blockbuster peaked in 2004 and the chain had about 9,000 locations globally, 60,000 employees and was valued at $5 billion with revenues of up to $5.9 billion, at the time.
Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September 2010 and closed all its corporate-owned stores by January 2014.
The surviving Blockbuster store in Bend, Oregon, was franchise-owned, and it continues to operate today thanks to product sales, according to the location’s website, BendBlockbuster.com.
Ken and Debbie Tisher reportedly opened the store in September 1990 after they moved to the City of Bend.
FOX Business contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.