AUSTIN, Texas – As Blockbuster videos shut their doors around the world forever, a local independently owned video store managed to survive and become an Austin staple for movie lovers.

  • GoFundMe to save Vulcan Video
  • Needs $35,000 to keep lights on
  • Staple of Austin since 1986

However, with the rise of streaming platforms and escalating rent prices the Austin video store is struggling to stay afloat. The operations manager, Matt Taylor, created a GoFundMe asking for $35,000 to keep the lights on.

Vulcan Video put their first movies on shelves in 1986, quickly becoming a staple of the Austin film community. As more Vulcan locations opened across the city, it became a place to discover foreign films and cult classics.

Three years ago, Vulcan Video was forced out of the Elizabeth Street location, which is now a vacant lot. The North Loop location was the next to close due to a drastic increase in rent.

"This place is still weird, wonderful, and homegrown, and we wanna keep the doors open for as long as humanly possible," said Matt Taylor, in the GoFundMe post. 

In the GoFundMe post, Taylor says the store doesn’t want to increase prices to offset their need for funds. Taylor paints a picture of the city before the population boom where regulars would flock to the store to discuss movies with like minds.

With one store left, Vulcan was hit with another rent increase and has cut back on all of the expenses they can, according to Taylor. There are 15 months left on Vulcan’s lease and the store hopes that film lovers can help them keep their head above water.

So far, people have donated more than $8,000 accompanied by stories of their childhoods sifting through the movies at Vulcan.

Once Vulcan’s lease is up, many locals hope to keep the final curtain from falling on one of Austin’s last standing video stores.

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