There is something about being an 80s kid that never quite leaves you. Maybe it is the sound of a tape rewinding. Maybe it is the way a Friday night once felt like an event instead of just another evening on the couch. Back then, you did not scroll. You drove. You walked through automatic doors under bright lights. You wandered the aisles, arguing over comedies versus action, hoping the last copy of whatever was new had not already been snatched up. If you were lucky, you grabbed candy at the counter and hurried home before the VCR clock started blinking 12:00 again.
For a lot of people, that era feels gone.
Sure, we all know about the last surviving Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon. It has become a kind of pop culture monument, a symbol of what used to be. Tourists line up for photos. Documentaries have been made. It feels like the final chapter of a story we assume is over.
But here is the part many people do not realize.
There are still other video stores alive and well in Oregon. And one of them has been quietly thriving since 1983.
Great American Video and Espresso sits at 6130 SE King Road in Milwaukie, just outside Portland, and walking inside feels like stepping back into a version of life that was simpler, slower, and somehow warmer. Milwaukie itself is a funny little suburb, practically Portland yet proudly its own thing. It has a charming downtown you can reach by MAX. It has river parks. And tucked into a strip along SE King Road, it has a video rental store that also serves espresso, milkshakes, ice cream, and authentic Midwestern frozen custard.
Yes, frozen custard.
When Blockbuster was buying up mom and pop shops left and right in the 90s, co owner Kent McCarty decided not to fold. He adapted. First came coffee. “If I made 40 dollars in a night, I was happy,” he once said. When Starbucks crept closer, he installed a drive thru window. As streaming services disrupted the entire industry, he leaned even harder into what makes a place like this special. Community. Conversation. Familiar faces at the counter.
The Oregonian has featured Great American over the years, highlighting how it managed to weather the rise of Blockbuster, the economic downturn of 2008, and the streaming explosion that buried so many of its peers. Open since 1983, it has outlasted corporate giants and tech revolutions alike. Not because it refused to change, but because it changed just enough to survive.
Inside, you will find roughly 12,000 titles lining the shelves. Classics from the 1940s starring James Stewart and Humphrey Bogart. Cult favorites. Family films. The latest blockbuster releases. New releases rent for just a few dollars for two days, catalog films for a full week, and even 4K rentals are available. You can call ahead and swing through the drive thru window for quick pickup, which might be the most perfectly Oregon convenience imaginable.
But the movies are only half the story now.
The drink menu reads like something out of a small town coffee shop that refuses to be outdone. More than 60 flavors are offered year round, including rotating espresso specials. There are over 40 flavors of ice cream and Italian ice. And then there is that frozen custard, the real Midwestern style McCarty grew up with. Dense. Creamy. Rich without being heavy. The kind of treat that melts slowly enough to make you savor it. Mint and Oreo leaves a lingering sweetness long after you have driven away.
As someone who grew up in the era of late fees and rewinding tapes, standing in those aisles stirs something deep. No autoplay. No algorithm pushing the same five recommendations. Just you and a wall of possibilities. You hold a case. You flip it over. You read the back. You make a choice. It feels small, but it feels intentional.
In a world that moves faster every year, there is something grounding about a business that has chosen to endure. While the Bend Blockbuster may carry the title of last of its kind, places like Great American Video and Espresso prove the spirit of the neighborhood video store never fully disappeared. It just evolved.
Great American Video and Espresso is located at 6130 SE King Road in Milwaukie, Oregon 97222. Drive thru hours run Monday through Thursday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The inside opens at 8:30 a.m. daily and closes 30 minutes before the drive thru shuts down. You can reserve movies ahead of time by calling 503 653 2680 and find current specials and pricing information at greatamericanvideoandespresso.com.
For those of us who still miss the glow of a video store on a rainy Oregon Friday night, it is comforting to know that the story did not end in Bend. In Milwaukie, it is still being written.
