Victoria video store closing after 40 years

One of the last remaining video rental stores on Vancouver Island is closing its doors after 40 years in business.

Pic-a-Flic Video near the border of Victoria and Oak Bay will close its doors at the end of September, after first opening in 1983.

"I wanted to make it to 40 years," said owner Kent Bendall on Tuesday.

"It wasn't me who opened it, but I've been working in the store for 22 years, bought it seven years ago," he said.

Bendall says the ubiquity of streaming services, the pandemic, and various other factors are the reason why he won't renew the store's lease when it ends in September.

"Ever since Netflix came along and then streaming things, it's been an uphill battle," he said.

Bendall says he only shared the news of the store's upcoming closure this week, and that it came as a sad development for him and many community members.

"People are shocked – shocked and saddened," he said.

'A LOT OF STORIES'

He says the community's response to the news has been overwhelming, and that the closure of the store marks the end of an era.

"I think I'm going to be getting a lot of testimonials over the next little while," he said.

"People have a lot of stories about Pic-a-Flic and video stores in general. 'Going to the store and that's where me and your mum went on our first date,' and that sort of thing," said Bendall.

Pic-a-Flic Video first opened in Victoria in 1983. May 23, 2023 (CTV News)He hopes some sort of arrangement can be made to keep the store's vast collection together. If not, sales could be coming this summer.

"Who knows, some cinephile out there might want to come along and make this a legacy collection," he said.

"You could put your name on it, the 'Whatever Whatever Memorial Video Collection,'" he said. "It's an amazing repository of film and cinema here and it would be a shame to break it up and let it scatter."

Ultimately, Bendall says he's grateful for the support of the community as the video store prepares to close down.

"Just thank you to everyone in Victoria who has come into Pic-a-Flic Video over the past 40 years, anyone who's supported any sort of small town video store," he said.

Pic-a-Flic owner Kent Bendall is shown. (CTV News)"It's important that we keep things going, I think, because not everything out there is in streaming land, and there's something to be said about going into a store and talking to somebody."

For now, it will be business as usual at Pic-a-Flic, located at 1519 Pandora Ave.