Last Family Video Store In Tulsa Prepares To Close

It's the end of an era as Family Video prepares to close all of its stores nationwide.

The last store still open in Tulsa at 31st and 129th East Avenue is getting ready to close its doors for good.

"The longer the COVID went and movies not being made from Hollywood it just kind of put us in a damper and we just went downhill from there," said Store Manager Christina Wagner.

Like others across the U.S., her store will be closing soon, bringing an end to the days of stopping by and browsing the shelves.

"I had a customer come in yesterday saying they enjoyed bringing their kids to bring them back to their childhood, and it is sad to see us go," said Wagner.

The company broke the news last week in a letter to employees and customers, saying they've enjoyed being part of their communities for over 40 years. Christina Wagner said the store is still important to a lot of people. Especially folks who can't afford streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. For a while, Family Video was beating the odds, one of the few major video rental chains still operating amidst a surge in streaming content. News On 6 spoke to a store in Owasso just over 4 years ago that was doing better than ever.

"Everything is going digital, but we're the only brick and mortar left ... we're not going anywhere, we're going to be here for a long time to come," said Former Family Video Manager Crystal Craig back in December of 2016.

That store is now closed, and back in Tulsa, Christina and her employees are preparing old movies for a final closing sale. It's your last chance to take home a bit of nostalgia. Even the yellow M&M man is up for grabs.

Christina says their final day is March 1st.