One of the few remaining video rental stores celebrates 30 years in operation

The store first opened its doors back in December 1989 in a strip mall close to where it’s located now in north part of the city. (Microplay/Jumbo Video - London/Facebook)

TORONTO — One of the few remaining video rental stores, Jumbo Video, which features a video game boutique, celebrated 30 years of business in London, Ont.

The store first opened its doors back in December 1989 in a strip mall close to where it’s located now in north part of the city.

On Thursday there was a post on the Microplay/Jumbo Video’s Facebook page that shared details of what’s been happened at the store in the past three decades. “Over the past 30 years, we have both seen and gone through a lot of changes,” it read.

“We still rent movies (although not in VHS anymore) and make our freshly popped popcorn,” the post read, mentioning the store had moved to its current location in 2012. It added that to keep up with the changing culture, they’ve expanded their business to include other products.

“We do some new things, too, such as growing our video game selections, getting into apparel, figures, cards, ‘Dungeons & Dragons,’ and more,” the post continued. “Some things, however, haven't changed at all: the fresh popcorn smell, aisles of movies and games to choose from, and friendly customer service.”

Several patrons to the store praised the store in the post’s comment section. One person called the store the “best hidden gem in this city,” while another wrote “congrats on 30 years and keeping a sadly lost ritual alive!”

One person felt nostalgic thinking about the store and wrote, “thanks for keeping the home fires burning. I love popping in the every once and awhile to just wander the aisles as I used to. It brings back a lot of great memories.

This weekend, the store held a 30-per-cent-off sale to celebrate the business’ longevity in the face of competitors shuttering due to the rise of online streaming sources like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime.