Are There Still Any Video Rental Stores Open in South Dakota?
Quick, what was something you were doing in October of 1984, besides watching old episodes of "Who's the Boss and Kate & Allie?"
Chances are on some of those brisk fall evenings you were watching a movie on your VCR that you had rented from one of the many video rental stores that could be found all over the state.
Back in the day, there were a ton of different video rental stores scattered all over the Sioux Empire. Who remembers places like Popingo Video, Video Mania, Blockbuster, and Hollywood Video? Even the Lewis Drug Stores had a healthy video rental business going for decades.
To show you how times have changed, during the mid-80s, there were over 15,000 video rental stores throughout the United States. As of April 2023, only 668 video rental businesses remain open.
Sure, you can still find the occasional Red Box movie rental kiosks around town, but they are really not the same are they?
These days your favorite movie is as close as your fingertips. If you wanna watch a flick, you need to look no further than your favorite streaming service. There's no need to get off the couch or leave the comfort of your own home.
Are there any Video/DVD rental stores still open in South Dakota?
I'm sorry to say that the Rushmore State no longer has any video rental stores left open. The last one closed up shop on (March 31) 2023. That's when Movie Mania in Pierre, South Dakota decided it was time to let the curtain fall on their video and DVD rental business.
According to Dakota News Now, Movie Mania owners Nancy and Steve Hiller decided 16 years was enough.
The Hillers first opened Movie Mania in February of 2007. At that time, the video rental business was still rather lucrative. Netflix was just getting going, and if you remember in the early days, Netflix would send people movies to view through the mail.
That quickly changed, however, once streaming services began to catch fire a short time later. Streaming services like Netflix and others began to torpedo the country's video rental biz beginning in the mid to late 2000s.
Dakota News Now reports that as of 2019, Movie Mania was the last video rental store left standing in South Dakota.
Now you have a little useless piece of South Dakota movie rental trivia you can lay on your friends during the next movie-watch party you have at your house.
You're welcome!
Source: Dakota News Now
LOOK: States with the most drive-in movie theaters
Gallery Credit: Aine Givens
LOOK: 20 Outside-the-Box Uses for Vacant Big-Box Stores
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz