Ever wonder, how long will Four Star Video keep its doors open? I know I sure have. Do you have thoughts on this matter? At the end of this post, I have included a link to our survey which we are asking you to take. This will help us decide how to proceed. We are very committed to this store, but the truth is we are analyzing every part of the business with the hopes that we can make some basic changes that will allow us to remain open.
When Amy and I bought this amazing store, after being customers for nearly 10 years, we asked ourselves this question pretty regularly. And it was hard to answer. After all, how could a video store compete in this day and age with Neflix, downloadable movies, Red Box, On-Demand home viewing, the public Library, etc. Doesn’t it seem that technology (or evolution) will cause this business to go under? And yet…the store is in a walking neighborhood, on a busy block, next door to a café, and with the grocery store at the end of the block. Bernal Heights is filled with civic minded people who love to support its businesses and Four Star Video has served as a bit of a community center, where people run into their friends and neighbors and chat about cinematic art, for 26 years!
Would the business shrink? Most definitely. Would it dry up completely? It’s been hard to say.
Ah, but we are proactive people. As many of you know, we’ve made a lot of changes over these three years in order to stay afloat. People complained a lot about late fees, so we offered the least expensive video store rental option ever – Kenflix. And a few hundred people signed up. People expressed interest in the new Hi-def formats, and we have grown one of the largest libraries of Blu-ray format films in the city. People begged us not to get rid of Dollar Wednesday – and we kept it! People told us the floor smelled, and we bought new carpet (and painted and re-thought the interior of the store). We opened a free book library of books that were made into great movies. We invested in hundreds of DVD’s that we formerly only had on VHS.
And yet…the challenges continue. Most recently, we have discovered we are no longer sustainable at our current budget, and we are trying some big changes to stem the flow. Some of these changes you’ll notice and some you will not. Our hope is that we can continue to provide service to our fair city. We are worried (properly so) but we are optimistic (cautiously, curiously). The important thing for you to know is that Four Star is being greatly challenged and we are examining every aspect of the business, and all sorts of ideas, realistic and otherwise, in order to stay open and keep fulfilling our role in the community, if that is what the community wants.
Here are the critical operation changes you need to know about:
Our new operation hours are: Tuesday – Sunday 11am – 9pm and Monday 2pm-9pm.
The change here is that we are now closed at 9 instead of 10pm every day. This means movies are due at 9pm. Also, we are opening three hours later on Monday. Included in this change, but less visible, are different employment shifts. Hopefully this won’t affect you very much; let me know if it does.
If you care about Four Star Video, and even if you don’t and just read this because it provides you with a small bit of amusement and some factual movie information each week, please take this survey that is linked here and let us know your thoughts. We are very curious to hear what our community thinks about this, because in the end, it is to serve you that we are open, not the other way around. If we can do that, and still exist within the realm of a normal business, then we most certainly will! Thanks in advance for filling out the survey!
Love and Kisses,
Ken
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............//NEW RELEASES//............
HAMLET (2009).
Drama.
David Tennant/Patrick Stewart.
Directed by Gregory Doran.
LEAP YEAR.
Comedy/Romance.
Amy Adams/Matthew Goode/Bill Nighy/John Lithgow.
Directed by Anand Tucker.
NINE.****BD****
Drama/Musical.
Daniel Day-Lewis/Nicole Kidman/Judi Dench/Kate Hudson/Marion Cotillard/Sophia Loren/Penelope Cruz/.
Directed by Rob Marshall.
NO TIME FOR SARGENTS.
Comedy/Classics.
Andy Griffith/Myron McCormick.
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy.
* First time on DVD.
ROCK N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL.
Musical/Punk Classic.
P.J. Soles/Vincent Patten/Clint Howard.
Produced by Roger Corman.
Directed by Allan Arkush.
* Do you remember this classic? High school anarchy to the tunes of The Ramones. Highly recommend!
TETRO.****BD****
Drama.
Vincent Gallo.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
TOKYO SONATA.
Drama/Foreign (Japanese).
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
THE TOOTH FAIRY.
Comedy/Family.
Dwayne Johnson/Ashley Judd/Billy Crystal/Julie Andrews.
Directed by Michael Lembeck.
............//DOCUMENTARY/............
END OF POVERTY.
FREUD.
MILTON GLASER: TO INFORM AND DELIGHT.
9 TO 5: DAYS IN PORN.
Doc/Porn.
VELVET UNDERGROUND: VANISHING POINT.
Music.
............//TELEVISION/............
THE HONEYMOONERS: SECOND HONEYMOON.
THE HONEYMOONERS: VALENTINE’S SPECIAL.
ON THE ROAD WITH CHARLES KURALT: SET 1.
* This is super awesome..
TRACEY ULLMAN’S STATE OF THE UNION: SEASON TWO.
XENA WARRIOR PRINCESS: SEASON ONE.
............//KIDS/............
FLICKA 2.
* Electric boogaloo.
GO DIEGO GO: GREAT PANDA ADVENTURE.
MARVEL’S IRON MAN: THE COMPLETE 1994 ANIMATED SERIES.
SESAME STREET: BEST OF ELMO 2.
............//NEW ON BLU/............
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.
............//REPLACEMENT DISCS/............
BIG NIGHT.
* Yummy food.
C.S.I: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON.
DARK PASSAGE.
FRIDA.
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG.
THE O.C: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON.
THE 25th HOUR.
****
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