Bend sisters Jordyn and Kaidyn, wearing matching pink tees and floral skirts, trickled past Blockbuster Video’s glass doors and scampered to the family section.

Their parents, Nathanael and Laura Cain, ambled behind, grinning with the familiarity of the ritual. Laura carried their 12-week-old Cyrus, who was asleep in her arms.

Before a buttered-popcorn painted wall and processions of neatly packed DVD and Blu-ray cases, 4-year-old Jordyn plucked “Fun Factory with Goofy” from a lower shelf. Gripping the box with both hands, she examined the bright cover until “Frozen,” on a nearby shelf, redirected her attention. She’d already seen “Frozen” but was so fond of the main character, Elsa, and her dresses and ice castle that she was tempted to relive the magic.

Her mother stood watching her while patting her son on the head. “Which one do you want, honey?” Laura said.

Jordyn couldn’t decide.

While such video store conundrums are common, video stores themselves are not. This Blockbuster Video, located on NE Revere Avenue, is the only one remaining in Bend, which used to sustain four locations.

Nationally, only 18 independently owned stores license the Blockbuster brand, down from 34 in May 2015. Two of those are located in Central Oregon; there’s also a store in Redmond.

To preserve the Bend store, general manager Sandy Harding works double-time to please movie lovers.

Jordyn being able to pick from a selection of Disney movies is proof. Disney does not allow Blockbuster to order videos directly. Harding’s solution is to visit big box retailers for such movies, which she then buys to stock the store. It’s scrappy tactics and personal touches like that that keep Bend’s Blockbuster afloat in a digital landscape where a wealth of movies are available for streaming or download with a few taps of a keyboard.

“Family night that revolved around a movie or a board game is a fun thing that is disappearing with the latest technology available on people’s phones,” said Harding, who manages both Central Oregon locations.

Family tradition

Nathanael and Laura said they miss Blockbuster’s east-side location — it shuttered last May. It was closer to their house. But they’re grateful to have any Blockbuster where their $30-per-month movie pass gets them as many two-at-a-time video rentals as they can handle. Satisfying their kids is easy when each video is 99 cents per week, Nathanael said.

“Netflix has around 80 kids’ movies, but Blockbuster has 400,” he said. Actually, Harding estimates it has 1,000 kids movies — a slice of the 14,000 titles that round out its catalog.

That Nathanael, who leaned an elbow on a shelf while he spoke, is comfortable in a video store is not unwarranted. He and Laura met while working in a video store in Eureka, California, when they were studying at nearby Humboldt State. One of their first dates involved a night in with then new release “Blade 2,” featuring Wesley Snipes. The vampire slasher flick was divisive for the young couple; Nathanael dug it; Laura, not so much. The video store gig — with the perk of unlimited free rentals — was an ideal part-time gig for the cash-strapped college students, who now bring their children to Blockbuster several times a week, referring to it as a parenting “resource.” Laura is returning to work after her three-month maternity leave, and Nathanael, who tends bar at Northside Bar & Grill, will assume more “daddy daycare,” which he said goes “nice and smooth” with a stack of videos, popcorn and a crackling fire in the fireplace.”

When they can’t make it to Blockbuster in person, they call the staff and ask them to hold particular titles, most recently “Deadpool.”

“They know us by voice,” Laura said with a smirk. The Cains are among roughly 300 regulars that Harding said frequent the Blockbuster several times a week. Most customers are 35 and older although there are youthful exceptions.

The way of the Dodo

Blockbuster Video, with almost 9,000 stores at its peak in the mid-2000s, was once an American retail staple. Beyond Central Oregon, there is a sole Blockbuster in Sandy. Store owners like Ken Tisher, who owns the Bend and Redmond stores, pay satellite company Dish Network, which acquired Blockbuster in April 2011, a licensing fee to continue using the name and logo. Other than the Sandy store, Tisher’s shops are the last Blockbusters left on the West Coast, not including Alaska.

Whistling at work

Blockbuster clerk Xavier Bowles, 19, likes his job. The compliments Harding receives for the recent Bend High School graduate reflect this. Bowles, who wore horn-rimmed glasses, shoulder-length hair and a navy Blockbuster polo, said he’s in no rush to apply for college. He places a premium on enjoying his life, and this job lets him do that.

“I thought it would be a cool idea to go back in time,” he said of the time-warping effect of a store full of for-rent DVDs and Blu-rays. “It’s literally what every customer says when they come in here.” That, and vague questions like, ‘Do you know the movie with the guy who was in a different one with a lot of sand?’”

Solving such puzzles is fun for Bowles, who rides his longboard to work. His coworker Emily Pappas, 18, sporting neatly clipped bangs and also wearing horn-rimmed glasses, said her mother worked at a video store, so video stacks are familiar. Pappas learned of the job opening because her boyfriend works at the Blockbuster in Redmond. She said she likes how people bounce recommendations off each other, although she couldn’t recall anything coworker Bowles has inspired her to check out.

“Are there any good children movies?” she said, teasing him.

Bowles nodded. He loves children’s movies along with dramas. “I just like good story-telling,” he said.

Sweet interactions

After Jordyn and Kaidyn amused themselves by inspecting a stray piece of candy that rolled from a vending machine across the carpet — “ground candy is not edible,” their dad reminded them — the two sisters took their video selections to the check-out counter. Elder Kaidyn picked “Dolphin Tale 2,” which intrigued her because the child actors in the first movie had since grown bigger. Jordyn decided, in the end, on an Elmo video. After the Cains drove away from the store, Harding leaned against the counter and chatted with her employees. She has watched families like the Cains grow since she began managing local Blockbusters in 2004. She worked in retail previously, and she said there’s something unique about the interactions she has with video-rental customers.

“It was fun to help people to pick out a prom dress, but movies are things that everyone loves. No matter their background, anyone can come in and find something they like, and we talk about it.” Harding said. “I would feel pretty disappointed if those conversations were gone.”

—Reporter: 541-617-7816, pmadsen@bendbulletin.com