It used to be a staple of life in the Calumet Region to swing by a video store to stock up on Hollywood's latest releases.
But the proliferation of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Crackle, HBO Max and Disney+, as well as on-demand, have made it easier than ever to watch any movie one wants to with just a few clicks on the remote.
Video stores, which have been fading for years along with the popularity of the DVDs and Blu-Ray discs they rent out, haven't been able to rewind time and have experienced an accelerated decline during the coronavirus pandemic that's kept people home and delayed the release of most Hollywood blockbusters.
Video Escapades closed in Hammond, and Family Video rolled its end credits in Dyer and Valparaiso.
Now Family Video, the Glenview, Illinois-based company that was the last major video store chain left standing in the United States, announced it would close all its remaining locations. Family Video will shutter its remaining Northwest Indiana stores at 2939 45th St. in Highland, 295 S. Wisconsin St. in Hobart and 1505 Lincolnway in LaPorte.
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The Highland location had been open for more than 40 years.
"Today, I have to make the difficult announcement that we are closing all Family Video locations. 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," Keith Hoogland, the CEO of parent company Highland Ventures, wrote in a farewell letter to customers. "I am extremely thankful to our employees and customers that were instrumental in Family Video's success. Without you, we would not have been the last man standing in our industry.
"While we are disappointed in the closing of Family Video, we remain tied to our communities through our legacy commercial property division, owning and managing buildings in the community."
The company once had 700 locations and 10,000 employees across the country. It made multiple efforts to adapt, including by adding Marco's Pizza restaurants that would deliver dinner and a movie, selling CBD and finally launching an #savethevideostore campaign on social media. Its remaining locations were in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
Family Video will stop renting movies Wednesday and start everything-must-go sales of "DVDs, Blu-rays, popcorn, The Sour Patch Guy, gumball machine, shelves and everything else" from noon to 8 p.m. daily until the liquidation is complete.
It will continue to sell movies, CBD products, T-shirts and memorabilia at familyvideo.com.
As the popularity of physical media has declined in an era of streaming, many videos stores have vanished from the landscape in Northwest Indiana, including Blockbuster; Box Office Video; Hollywood Video; The Tape Escape in Highland; Video Circle in Highland; Rt. 30 Video in Schererville; Pine Island Video in Schererville; Class Act Video in Lansing; Calumet City Video; Rainbow Video in Calumet City; Video Odyssey in Hammond; Video Box in Lansing; Video Hits in Gary; Videoland of Indiana in Highland; and Video Visions in Crown Point and Merrillville.
Only a few video stores remain after closures in recent years, such as of a Family Video in Griffith and Oasis Video stores in Munster and Griffith.
There's little video stores left in the Region — Oasis Video in Crown Point, Cornejo's Video in East Chicago and multiple Redbox kiosks scattered across Northwest Indiana.
Region stores that closed in 2020
Region stores that closed in 2020
The brick-and-mortar retail sector has been struggling because of competition with e-commerce giants like Amazon, eBay, Wayfair, Chewy and Zappos. But 2020 presented unprecedented challenges because of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns and restrictions. Here's a look at stores in the Region that closed, announced they would close, filed for bankruptcy or were saved from closure in 2020:
Pier 1 is closing its stores in Hobart and Valparaiso, but the Schererville location will remain open.
Art Van Furniture to close all stores, including in Hobart and Portage.
Family Video, the Glenview, Illinois-based company that's now the largest video store chain left in the United States, is closing 200 locations across the country this month, including in Dyer and Valparaiso.Â
Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close its locations in Hobart and Orland Park before the end of the year.
The Kmart in Valparaiso, the last one left in Northwest Indiana, has closed.
The Express clothing store closed Sunday in River Oaks Center in Calumet City.
The long-running family-owned jewelry store chain opened an outpost in the super-regional Southlake Mall in 2012.
Helzberg Diamonds has shuttered its location by the Southlake Mall in Hobart.
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Carson's, the iconic Midwestern department store chain that has been run out of Merrillville as an e-commerce site since it collapsed into bankruptcy in 2018, closed its only remaining brick-and-mortar store in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
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The bankruptcy could deliver a big blow to the Southlake Mall and Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets.
The California-based retailer plans to keep open its stores, including its Hobart location at 2108 E 80th Ave. The musical superstore across from the Southlake Mall has long been a destination for musicians from across Northwest Indiana.
JC Penney, which already had filed for bankruptcy and announced it was shuttering 230 stores nationwide, said it would close its Calumet City department store at 200 River Oaks Drive. The troubled retailer is shuttering 154 stores this summer and plans to announce another wave of closures in the next few weeks.
The J.C. Penney at River Oaks Center has been spared from a previously announced closure as the troubled retailer works through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A longtime customer is buying the Brumm's Bloomin' Barn florist and gift shop in Highland, which will become Bloomin' Barn next year.
Piper Boutiques is closing after 37 years in Valpo, while businesses across Northwest Indiana are limping on and looking for the public's support while still offering freebies for health care workers and first responders.
Macy's won't say whether its stores at the Southlake Mall and River Oaks Center will make the cut.
Pier 1 Imports filed for bankruptcy as it holds liquidation sales at its stores in Hobart and Valparaiso.