The movies at After Hours Movie Rentals aren’t for rent anymore.
Neon sale prices adorn thousands of films on the walls of the independent movie rental store at 915 Foster St., which plans to close the second week of October.
After Hours is the latest in a stream of Evanston movie rental stores that have closed in the last few years, including Blockbuster and Cat’s Corner Video in Norris University Center.
These store closures demonstrate more of a national trend than a reflection of Evanston’s economic climate, said Marty Lyons, Evanston’s interim community and economic development director.
Corporate companies such as Blockbuster and Movie Gallery have closed stores nationwide as they try to compete against Redbox, a company offering movie rentals from vending machines, as well as Hulu and Netflix
Competition from Netflix and Redbox did not provoke the store’s upcoming close-out, After Hours co-owner Charlie Albin said.
“We totally knew what we were up against,” he said. “It has to do with operational costs.”
Despite the closures of local and corporate stores, video stores still survive in Evanston.
Video Adventure, 631 Chicago Ave., opened more than 20 years ago in Evanston and stays afloat by making its movie selection as diverse as possible, employee Sean Messer said.
The store stocks foreign films and other items requested by customers, Messer said.
“Being a specialty store helps a great deal,” he said.
After Hours, which opened in 2007, also maintained a customer base due to its wide variety of titles, Albin said.
“It’s like a movie museum,” Albin said. “We’re geared toward whoever comes in.”
Longtime customer and Evanston resident Drew McMahon said he is disappointed by the closure.
“I like the selection,” he said. “Where else would I find (movies like) Battle Royale?”
However, subscribing to Netflix can sometimes be a better option. Weinberg freshman Natalia Zaldivar said she signed up for Netflix last month.
“I did it partly because the video store by my house was closing,” Zaldivar said. “I also thought it would be good for college.”
While movie streaming from Netflix can play a role in drawing away customers from movie rental stores, not everyone likes the newer services.
“We have customers who have Netflix coming in here,” he said, mentioning that Netflix users rent TV series from the store. “It’s like crack – people don’t want to wait to watch the next episode.”
