After many years of movies and shows, family video in Grand Ledge has announced that they will be finally closing. Throughout the years, family video has been a very popular movie rental store throughout the Midwest. They’ve provided families and friends with countless movie nights and shows for many, many year. The store has been closed to the public since January first, but hasn’t officially closed yet. There is no official time on when it will totally be closed, they are waiting to sell all their inventory. Once they have sold them out, then they will be officially closed.

Family Video has also announced that they will be closing world wide. Though the majority of them are located in the Midwest there are locations throughout America. Many of the stores have previously closed, but some lasted longer than others with support from the community. Family video reached its peak in the 90s, and their income has slowly decreased since then. They lasted as long as they could, outlasting many other movie chains like Blockbuster, Movie Gallery, and Hollywood Video.

Family Video fought hard to stay open, but just couldn’t keep up with the current streaming services. Services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ have taken the world by storm. They have dominated places like movie stores and movie theaters. Places like family video had no shot of keeping up with the ease of accessing many movies from your couch. That’s not even including the many ways people can play any movie they want illegally. Some people can just click a few buttons and play any movie they want. In addition, Covid-19 furthermore slowed down income and sales. In the end, family video tried hard but came up short.

Overall, family video was a staple in the community for many years. When it started in a tiny building 42 years ago in 1978, no one imagined it would grow to be such a successful business. Many people have great memories at family video, renting the newest videos, or turning in their report card for a free movie. Throughout the years they employed many people and had over 700 stores throughout America. They also came together and supported many charities. Thank you Family Video.

Information in this article is from an article in The Lansing State Journal by Christen Martinez