First there were two, and then there was one, and soon there will be none – the Lower Queen Anne Blockbuster will soon be joining its Upper Queen Anne sister-store in closing up shop, for good.
Wednesday will be the last day the store will be renting out movies and games. Starting this Friday, February 25, the store will begin liquidating all of its stock, including DVDS, games, film posters and other paraphernalia, candy and snacks, and all other merchandise, according to an employee who spoke to us on the phone this morning.
“Ballard and Capitol Hill are staying open, but they’re closing five stores in our district, and unfortunately we were one of them,” the employee said.
The employee estimates that the store’s last day will be around April 10. Until then, Blockbuster will continue to mark down merchandise to clearance prices as it approaches the final day.
When the Upper Queen Anne Blockbuster closed back in September 2009, DVD titles were going for cheap ($6 and up), while other miscellaneous goods (posters, toys and character bobble heads) went for as little as $2.50 each.
What will this most recent closure mean for the Lower Queen Anne business district, which is still hurting from the closure of the Uptown Theatre right across the street in November and a number of other retail shutterings over the last several months? We’re following up with Uptown property and business owners to see how these recent closures are affecting both business and the face of the neighborhood. Look for that story soon.
(Thanks to Jai for the tip.)