A favorite of downtown film buffs is moving. Four Star Video Heaven will reopen this week near the corner of State, Gilman and Broom streets.
"The new space has a lot of advantages over the old, but the biggest factor is that it's less expensive," says owner Lisa Brennan. The store was at 315 N. Henry St. for more than 25 years.
"The lease for the space we're in was negotiated back during the boom years, before this seemingly endless recession," she says. Much of the longtime store is unusable for retail.
"We have big offices in which to sprawl out, and a lot of storage, but it's really not the most efficient use of an expensive space," she says.
So far, customers have been supportive - so much so that some have offered to help pack. But there's no question that streaming video has had an impact on business. Just last month, in fact, the east side's Bongo Video closed.
"The convergence of the recession with technology changes has created serious challenges, but we still have a strong base of devoted customers and new ones coming in all the time," says Brennan. "The great movie collection and the great staff of movie buffs have always been what's made Four Star special."
By moving to less expensive space, she hopes, "we can dedicate more of our resources to the things we care about the most."
Four Star's new quarters at 449 State St. are expected to open Friday, Sept. 30.
Another downtown stalwart, A Room of One's Own, 307 W. Johnson St., is also slated to move. It will begin sharing quarters with Avol's Books, 315 W. Gorham St., late next year.
