Walking into a movie rental store is somethingbrmany of us remember as part of our distant past. It was the good old days ofbrtaking home a movie to watch without the need to purchase it, all whilebrexperiencing great (human) customer service, and even running into a neighborbror two along the way.
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With the birth of streaming services likebrNetflix, Hulu, and now countless others, the need for a rental store has becomebrobsolete. One store in Springville, however, remained open even throughout thebrinternet streaming boom —that is, until now.
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After 33 years and 27,000 customers, LarsenbrVideo in Springville is closing, liquidating all of its movies for $1.99 each.
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To the onlooker, the closing of this store maybrseem like a long time coming, but to many Springville residents, it representsbrthe disappearance of an era, and a reminder of good memories had.
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“Truly a Springville gem,” Cameron Congerbrwrote in a Facebook comment. “I remember being a child and saving up enoughbrchange to go rent a VHS and walk over to Polar King to get a twist cone. Thanksbrfor all the great memories.”
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“I spent many years in the military, and everybrtime I came back to Springville, Larsen’s was always there,” Tod Morgan wrotebron the same thread. “No matter how long I was away, whenever I came back andbrwent into the store, you always remembered my name. Definitely a Springvillebricon that will be missed.”
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While owner, Leon Larsen also reminisced aboutbrthe good old days, he’s at peace with letting it go.
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“It had a good run, but when it’s done, it’sbrdone,” Larsen said. “It wasn’t worth it to keep it open anymore, and we got anbroffer we couldn’t refuse, so we decided to sell the building. All good thingsbrcome to an end.”
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When asked what his plan is when the storebrcloses, Larsen said that he was going to go home and rest a while. When askedbrif he was going to stream any videos, he politely said no, stating that hebrdoesn’t subscribe to any movie streaming apps, but does enjoy a good ClintbrEastwood movie.
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There was no comment on who the next buildingbrowner would be, but Larsen was excited for the new adventure the 60-year-oldbrbuilding on Main Street would have. (Brown is a Serve Daily contributor.)
