Blockbuster to Close South Orange Store

Blockbuster will close its , an employee confirmed Wednesday.  “Space available” signs are now visible on the store’s windows. 

A spokesperson for Blockbuster was not immediately available and it is not clear how much longer the store will remain open or when renting will cease.

Plagued by debt and overcome by changes in how consumers acquire media, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

Although Blockbuster was purchased by the satellite company Dish Network earlier this year, hundreds of stores have closed, including all stores in Canada, with many more set to shutter in the near future. Other Patch sites around the country have reported store closings this week, including locations in , and .

The first Blockbuster opened in Texas in 1985. With some 4,000 stores at its peak, it was once the leader in the video rental space, and the place to go to pick up new releases as well as classic movies, at a fraction of what it would cost to see them at a cinema.

But "going out of business" signs have become the norm at brick and mortar video stores, which have failed to compete with the emergence of digital age competition, such as mail-order company Netflix and rental kiosks like Redbox.

With this closing, South Orange will now be without a store to rent movies and dvds for the first time in decades.