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The store, one of the last of its kind, will officially close its doors on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
Ray Beattie, a loyal customer for 14 years and a high school history teacher, often comes in to rent film documentaries for his history class.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be sad when they officially close shop for good,\u201d Beattie said.<\/p>\n
Guy, who operates the store with his parents, Rich and Winnie, and his sister Pam Hanford, said they are closing shop for many reasons, one of which is their mutual desire to retire.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are still a vibrant business, but we know that many people prefer coming into a store to browse, interact and discover new titles that our customers may have overlooked,\u201d Guy said. \u201cHowever, the customer base has declined and the business is not what it used to be due to so many options for movie viewing, and a storefront has great difficulty in competing with an Internet business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guy explained that the cost of doing business is very expensive compared to an Internet supplier located in a warehouse in a low-rent rural area with minimum-wage employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not bitter whatsoever and are sad to see so many businesses like ours disappearing from the communities,\u201d Guy said.<\/p>\n
Winnie, known simply as \u201cMom\u201d around the store, said every day has been an adventure since its opening. She said they have been operating in Kensington since April 1, 1984; just about 32 years, and have outlasted their corporate competitors, such as Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know our last days are going to be hard,\u201d Winnie said.<\/p>\n
A family-owned store carrying 70,000 titles \u2014 many of which are far from popular among the masses \u2014 is no easy feat. Guy and Winnie take pride in the cultural treasury they\u2019ve built.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally bought every title in the store and searched throughout the country and even outside the country to secure many titles. The research was never-ending and was a passion I enjoyed pursuing every day,\u201d says Guy.<\/p>\n What also makes browsing titles so lively is that you will notice near the register, a DVD case stocked with movie titles that were selected by Mom, titled \u201cWinnie\u2019s Picks,\u201d which she changes periodically for customers unsure what to rent. She pulls from a self-compiled list of 500 movie titles.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople may come in here and depend on the choices I\u2019ve made because they may not know what to rent,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Therese Rossi, who has been renting here for 18 years, said the owners work so hard to keep this place going with so many titles to choose from. She said she enjoys seeing the great mix of titles on the shelves of Winnie\u2019s Picks and has discovered titles that she\u2019s never heard of.<\/p>\n \u201cI enjoy her eclectic style in taste, including \u2018Kramer vs. Kramer\u2019 and \u2018Wilde,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That day, Rossi chose \u201cA Passionate Woman\u201d from Winnie\u2019s Picks. The BBC documentary series was a new discovery for her, thanks to Winnie.<\/p>\n \u201cShe has earned my respect for her good taste in films,\u201d Rossi said. \u201cI\u2019m going to miss having the movie in my hand and what she has changed or added to her shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n With movies on demand and online services to stream movies instantly, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, Kensington Video is unfortunately a dying breed in the digital age. Many of the customers who enjoy the store\u2019s wide selection are millennials, said Guy.<\/p>\n When asked about what the millennials thought of the store\u2019s closure, Guy mentioned that said the younger generation probably feels the most cheated out of enjoying Kensington Video, since their discovery of it was relatively recent.<\/p>\n \u201cThe millennials love movies and are very knowledgeable on classics, such as silents and foreign films,\u201d Guy said. \u201cMany of them adore Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. When they walk into the store, they love the old school look. One of our customers has recently purchased standees, empty cases, VHS videos and promotional items because they are turning their one bedroom apartment into a video store replica. Obviously, they are old school and love our store. They will miss us and of course we will miss them too.<\/p>\n Sylvia Smith, who lives in San Carlos, has been coming to the store for 15 years and has been enjoying its final days by coming every Saturday, since she heard the news last November. She enjoys renting film noir titles, especially those with legendary stars such as Humphrey Bogart.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving interaction with people is priceless and Netflix is no good,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n After the store officially closes, Guy says he will store all the movies in a warehouse location and attempt to rent online. If all goes well in developing an online business, he will cater to film buffs seeking rare, obscure, eclectic titles.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve worked so hard at collecting all of these titles and it would be so hard to sell the titles that were hard to collect,\u201d Guy said.<\/p>\n In order to keep the spirit alive for film lovers, Winnie plans to host a film community group near the Kensington Library once a week to talk about film, where she\u2019ll also continue to recommend her own selections.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be a great way to stay in touch, since we were able to make an impact to the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Rossi mentioned her next best place to rent film rarities would be the library, although it won\u2019t have the same affect she felt when she would browse at Kensington Video after all these years.<\/p>\n \u201cSince I live in the neighborhood, I do hope to stay in touch with Winnie by attending her film club,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Currently, the family is in negotiations with potential renters, hoping to find a business that will be a strong asset to the community.<\/p>\n \u201cThe building belongs to our family, and the space could potentially turn into a restaurant,\u201d Guy said.<\/p>\n For anyone who was able to partake in the Kensington Video renting experience, it will be a story you will have to tell your grandchildren, because the experience may soon vanish forever.<\/p>\n \u201cI sometimes wonder if the theaters will be next. I hope not,\u201d Guy said.<\/p>\n![\"(above)](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/IMG_1428web.jpg\")
![\"Kensington](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/IMG_1411web-300x164.jpg\")
(Foto por Hutton Marshall)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n