Gabrielle Austin
Physically going out and renting a movie may seem foreign to people now due to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu but 35 years later, Queen Video has maintained it’s legacy, until now.
The beloved rental store announced it will close its historic 412 Queen St. W. location.
After 35 years operating in Toronto, we are sad to announce our historic Queen St location is CLOSING.
— Queen Video (@queenvideo) March 9, 2016
Many video stores have taken a hit, given the digital and streaming transition and the owner of rental store Videoflicks Joe Darlino says it’s unfortunate to see Queen Video go.
“When these stores close, so does their selection so the movie universe gets smaller and smaller,” Darlino says.
The store will be closing it’s doors after a long run (Photo taken from Queen Video Twitter Page)
Today’s generation, added Darlino, tends to be lazier and especially partakes in binge watching and prefers accessing movies and TV shows from home.
“Young people have less and less interest in a physical product and they like getting stuff free especially for music, film and TV,” added Darlino.
Customers of Queen Video still have the Bloor St. location but losing the original store is very personal for some.
102.1 writer and Art of the Reel blogger, Jerry Nadarajah says he’s deeply saddened about the closure.
“I visit Queen Video often but especially when my parents are in town so we can watch and analyze movies so this closure will change that,” Nadarajah says.
The blogger’s parents visit once a month and he rents about 4-5 videos per visit.
“I biasedly thought that since they’ve been around for so long that they would always be there,” added Nadarajah.
The impact of Queen Video is quite large because the film store has been around for such a length of time and Nadarajah suggests that this may take away from getting a film studies’ education.
“If you are not enrolled in a film studies’ class then an alternative would be too learn buy renting films to understand good screen writing and performances,” says Nadarajah.
Over this weekend Queen Video will be selling their stock to the public, including returning beloved customers.
With over 10,000 tittles in their selection the store will be busy and currently has a 2-hour wait time to pay for items. Fortunately customers still have the Bloor St. location to rent and purchase all of their favorite films, TV shows are more.
(Photo taken from Queen Video Twitter Page)