How an independent video store in Toronto gave the entire city a much-needed dose of character via nparts
It’s just a few weeks before the independent video store chain will close its doors for good in Toronto; when the iconic white block lettering will be torn off the storefront, leaving an imprint branded into the Annex building’s brick like a navy sunburn.
Of course, times — with streaming networks and increased digital access to movies — have not been kind to the video store industry. The stores have all closed one by one. But the one on Bloor Street — “the jewel,” according to Howie — was the last. “When we moved into the Annex, there was a Blockbuster right across the road — they’re not there anymore,” says Howie. “In the first 72 hours, we had 1,000 customers and they all said, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’” Amiable and humble to a fault, Howie is wedged into his small office at the back of the store, surrounded by archives and posters.
But that also meant taking a loss. “I didn’t think you should have to pay for the privilege of being a customer,” Howie says. “But I learned early on that the people who watch the most movies are the ones without jobs, credit cards, houses, mortgages, wives, kids, roommates. They’re the ones who had problems with drugs, alcohol. But they watched the most movies. So if you take them as a customer, the odds are they’re going to lose movies or move out of the neighborhood and not come back.
The store couldn’t afford to fight the charges, so Howie never showed up in court. He was found guilty in absence, “I think, 11 times,” he says. After the ban was lifted, old convictions were — sure enough — forgiven. And the video business loved him, so much so that one day, Blockbuster came calling. It was 2010, when the chain had filed for bankruptcy. A new group came along, wanting to buy what remained of the brand and revive the chain. They approached Howie, asking if he’d be interested in running part of the operation.
In Nora Ephron’s 1998 film You’ve Got Mail — which also sold for $2 at Queen Video’s final sale — independent bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly watches her business die as Joe Fox and his bookstore chain move in across the street. She describes him and his empire as having, “instead of a brain, a cash register; instead of a heart, a bottom line.”
Indeed, before Queen Video closed, it had over 40,000 titles. According to Flixable, a third-party Netflix search engine, as of 2018, the streaming network has just over 5,000. And its selection can’t compare to Queen Video’s. “Blockbuster was making so much money off of just Hollywood’s top 40. They didn’t have to buy an old Bergman film or the classics. They didn’t care. And Netflix is the same. Imagine that.
It’s a testament to the connection the Levmans built with the communities where Queen Video stores were located. Penni can’t quite remember who said it first, but she likes to think “Queen Video is to movies what Sam the Record Man was to music.”
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