One of the few remaining video rental stores will soon turn out its lights in Arnold.
Family Video, 1845 Jeffco Blvd., along with the 250 other locations in the chain owned by Highland Ventures Ltd., will close Feb. 28 or when its remaining inventory is sold, district manager Melissa Schuchardt said.
Schuchardt said the Arnold location has three employees.
The chain is selling its movies, video games, CBD products and store fixtures.
In a letter announcing the closures, Highland Ventures CEO Keith Hoogland said, “The impact of COVID-19, not only in foot traffic but also in the lack of movie releases, pushed us to the end of an era.”
Family Video outlasted Blockbuster, Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video in the movie rental industry, and at one point, the company had 800 locations and employed 10,000 people, Hoogland said in the letter. The chain now has more than 1,000 workers.
Family Video also has stores in Farmington, Rolla, Mexico, O’Fallon, Cape Girardeau, Fulton, Florissant, and Gravois in Missouri and Waterloo, Belleville, Wood River, Jacksonville and Quincy in Illinois.
Schuchardt said the Missouri and Illinois stores have about 80 employees.
“We want to thank our employees for all of the years we have been in business,” Schuchardt said. “It is really sad to close.”
Highland Ventures, which owns the building that houses the Arnold location, will look to lease the about 5,000-square-foot space, Schuchardt said.
The company also leases a storefront at 1851 Jeffco Blvd. to the Little Caesars Pizza restaurant.
She said anyone interested in leasing the Family Video site can contact her by email at melissa.schuchardt@legacypro.com.
