Superior's Video Vision announces closure
Dec. 27—SUPERIOR — Video Vision in Superior, a movie rental store steeped in nostalgia, will end its nearly 41-year saga in the spring.
The day after Christmas, owner Brian Augustine announced on the
store's Facebook page
that the video rental portion of the business is shuttering. Superior Tan, the other arm of the business at 1418 Belknap St., will remain open and expand further into the wellness field. All six employees will continue to work at the store as tanning consultants.
With 6,000 movies to sell, Augustine said he expects the Video Vision closeout sale to run into February. The shop had a steady stream of customers Wednesday.
"I'm bummed," said Greg Nilsen, who said he's been a Video Vision customer since day one. "I've been a movie nut my whole life."
The Superior man had stopped by to pick up 10 movies, and was glad to know that the store will close gradually.
"While they're open I can rent some videos next week. There's still some shows I want to see," Nilsen said, including the new "Exorcist" film.
Loyal customers like Nilsen visit Video Vision at least once a week.
"It's sad to see them go," Augustine said, noting that some customers have come up to the front counter in tears since hearing of the closing.
Augustine opened his
first Video Vision in Duluth in 1983
.
"We were the first, the very first exclusive video store in the Twin Ports," he said, and they're now the last.
Video chain stores soon brought additional options to the area — Blockbuster, Mr. Movies, Hollywood Video, Movie Gallery, Video Update, Premiere Video and a handful of others. Video Vision, which had six stores at its peak in the 1990s, outlasted them all.
Over the store's 40 years, Augustine estimated they provided jobs for 500 young people and served three generations of customers. Among them, Kyle Scanlon of Duluth. He stopped by the Superior shop Wednesday with his daughters Jordan, 6, and Averi, 2 to rent some movies. The girls were interested in buying some Barbie and Minnie Mouse DVDs as well.
"I've been here since I was a little kid," Scanlon said. "It's sad to see it close, but it's cool that my kids were able to go here for a little bit anyway."
He remembered renting Nintendo consoles from the Spirit Valley Video Vision for a week at a time to play games with his brothers and the fun of checking out the new release wall.
Video Vision fan Angie Arden of Duluth has been coming to the Superior store for over a decade.
"I'm a movie lover," she said, and she likes to spend time selecting and watching them on her own time. "And I value community small businesses like this in the community that are more than just the product."
She called Video Vision a landmark and manager Amy Sipola a fixture in the community.
"I'm amazed and impressed that it's been around this long and that's a testament to them, the people here," Arden said.
Augustine traced the Superior store's decline to the COVID-19 pandemic. Business was steady until the mandatory two-month government shutdown.
"When we reopened after COVID, only half of our customers came back, so I think people learned how to stream," Augustine said.
The final straw had to do with supply issues. Ingram, the distributor that provided movies to the store, went out of business in October.
"We're having a hard time getting movies," Augustine said.
Customers have a few months to take a piece of this landmark home with them.
"Right in the middle of March, our famous marquee flashing lights are going to go out for the last time," Augustine said.
He said he's excited about expanding further into the wellness field through Superior Tan, and plans to snag a few of the shop's DVDs for his home collection, including "Titanic" and some movies for his grandchildren.
"I just want to thank all our loyal customers over the years. We've had, like, three generations of people coming in here. And I want to thank all the wonderful young people we had working for us that made us a success," Augustine said.
