The Last Video Rental Store in Michigan

Dearborn Heights — When I tell my kids I used to go to a physical store to rent VHS tapes on a Friday night, they get confused.

“Isn’t that like a library?” they ask.

As if!

These were hugely profitable businesses that held the crown jewel of modern entertainment in the palms of their hands, until they didn’t.

Blockbuster once had 9,000 locations and over 80,000 employees. And that was just the biggest chain. Add in all of the mom and pop places, and that number soars.

But now it’s the loneliest number, at least in Michigan.

Video Exclusive in Dearborn Heights is now the last business in Michigan where you can rent a physical movie. It doesn’t make a lot of money, but the owner likes the idea of it existing, so it does.

Aisle after aisle of shallow shelves stacked with titles, from old favorites to new releases. You take the empty box to the front, where the actual movie is handed over in a plain black case.

There’s a return drop box, popcorn in bags, and featurettes play from bulky TVs suspended from the ceiling. There’s even a backroom with “Adult Content.”

The store is on Telegraph near West Warren, but it’s actually located in 1996.

C.J. Pearson doesn’t mind working in a time warp. He’s been recommending titles and charging late fees for well over a decade.

“I can’t believe this is still a thing!” is one of the most uttered sentences he hears from curious customers. “How cool!” is second. “It’s always the same,” he tells me.

C.J. knows it’s one of the most unique jobs in the country right now, and probably won’t last forever. But for now, it’s a living where he gets to share his love of Hollywood with everyone who walks in the door.

“I hear people who say it’s refreshing to be able to talk to somebody and have things recommended to them by a person, as opposed to, ‘you watched this, so you’re gonna want to watch 12 more things that are exactly like it.’ Kinda soulless.”

Yes, there’s a sign that says “Be Kind, Rewind,” and it’s enforced with a fine. But Pearson tells me that while they do have an ample selection of VHS cassettes, not a lot of people are able to view them.

“They don’t make VCRs anymore,” Pearson explains. “People come in and ask me all the time if we also rent out the machines, but we don’t. We can’t even find them anymore if we wanted to.”

I ended up spending more time there than I thought, pacing up and down the worn carpeted floor, glaring at all of those empty DVD cases lined up so neatly on the walls. Not many choose their entertainment like this anymore. It’s inefficient, public, and time consuming.

Yet, it’s an experience. And if you had it for yourself, it’s not too late. But it won’t be there forever.