Long’s Video selling off stock, shutting its doors
The end of an era for movie rentals in Franklin County will come to an end next month when the county’s nearly four-decade-old video store will shut its doors.
So, if you want to beef up your collection of DVDs and Blu-ray discs, now is the time to do it.
Terry Towe, who has owned and operated Long’s Video since 2004, plans to close the store, located adjacent to 98 Liquors in Eastpoint, at the end of next month.
Between now and then he’ll be selling off his stock for the price of a rental, and there’ll be plenty of bargains to be had, especially for children’s movies.
Towe, who will remain on staff for Woolever Enterprises, which operates the entire complex at 191 U.S. 98, said the store has been an institution in the county ever since Rita Long started it back in 1984, with locations in Apalachicola and St. George Island.
“It’s kind of an icon,” he said. “That’s a long time to keep a business going.”
Originally, Rita and sister Joyce rented VHS tapes and when it came time to transition to DVDs, “she didn’t want to have to make the big move,” Towe said.
At the time. VHS tapes were a lot more expensive to buy than DVDs would turn out to be. They ran for as much as $55 to $85, compared to DVDs, which retailers can now get for anywhere from $18 to $24 each.
Towe ended up closing the store on the island, and moving the stock to downtown Apalachicola, where the store was located on Market Street, where Tapas later would emerge.
At the time Towe had about 15,000 VHS tapes, but in time they shrank to about 5,000.
Long’s Video steadily grew its DVD collection and now plans to sell off nearly all its stock, with the exception of those Towe will keep for his personal; viewing pleasure.
He said the newest releases may cost a little more, but by and large, there’ll be bargains galore as the video store sells its inventory.
Until they sell out, this will include some of the most popular favorites, such as “Ready Player 1,” and “Scary Movie 4,” and of course some of the actors and actresses that Towe have always been popular, including Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Gerard Butler, Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett and Robert Downey Jr.
Long’s Video, located at 191 U.S. 98 in Eastpoint, can be reached at 850-670-3311.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.