Netflix bumped Blockbuster. Streaming killed the CD. Social media dealt a deadly blow to newspapers.
It all seems like the old way of doing things is being transformed. But a few choose to stick to simpler ways.
This is the case for Sanktjuri Books in Eau Claire Market, which remains open amongst a sea of empty stores in the last two weeks before the market’s permanent close.
“I kind of equated us to the Olympic torch bearers,” said Anthony Ridgeway, an employee of Sanktjuri, describing what it is like to be one of the last remaining stores.
Since 2019, they’ve specialized in selling books, board games and physical media including CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes.
By the door are DVD shelves with a sign that reads “for rent”, and despite living in the modern age of streaming, Ridgeway says customers come back and rent titles across a variety of genres, such as action titles, dramas and thrillers.
“They’re kind of the symbol of hope and the symbol of something great, and in this case being one of the last stores open when everything is closing down,” Ridgeway said. “We have people coming in at least five or six times a month to do rentals."
Eau Claire is slated for demolition on May 31 for the up-and-coming Green Line. The first phase of the light rail train line will connect Southeast Calgary to downtown and include 13 stations and 18 kilometres of track. The scheduled plan for phase one is set to be done by 2030.
The mall originally opened in 1993 as a direct clone of Vancouver’s Granville Island, with its own twist of having a market within the mall.
Almost immediately, Calgarians expressed bewilderment as to what they had just received. By 1998, the mall was already in debt. By 2006, the company planned to tear down the market for condos, however the 2008 recession halted plans.
Sanktjuri books is moving to Marlborough Mall after Eau Claire’s closure, said Nicholas Kimmel, another employer.
“There is not a lot of nostalgia for this location,” said Kimmel.
The statement is oddly poetic for a store that specializes in nostalgia. Even though physical media has been declining for many years there are still those who keep it alive.
Much like this store in this closing mall there will be always those stay till the very end.
