Alaska’s Last Two Blockbuster Stores are Closing, Leaving Only 1 in the U.S.

Even after receiving some attention from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and being gifted some movie memorabilia in the form of the jock strap worn by Russell Crow in 2005’s Cinderella Man, the reality of the modern media landscape couldn’t be held back from reaching Alaska forever. For loyal patrons of some of the nation’s last remaining Blockbuster Video rental stores, the unthinkable has happened: Blockbuster is finally finished with Alaska. The former media empire’s last two Alaska locations in Anchorange and Fairbanks will officially close for rental business this coming Monday, according to the owner of both locations. The stores will reopen on Tuesday for inventory sales that will clear out the last remaining media materials, marking the end of an era. The only remaining Blockbuster in the U.S.? It’s located in Bend, OR, where we can only assume that a thriving hipster population is ironically keeping it afloat.

As recently as 2013, Alaska had remained a fairly strong holdout for Blockbuster Video stores, with 13 brick-and-mortar locations, but that number quickly dwindled. The brand was able to survive for a time thanks to prohibitively high prices for high-speed internet connections in the U.S.’s most remote state, but as connectivity has increased, even the value represented by Blockbuster was eventually rendered moot.

“It’s tough to tell the customers, it really is,” said Blockbuster general manager Kevin Daymude while talking to the Anchorage Daily News. “They are like family. It’s hard to say goodbye.”