A nostalgic bar themed around a classic Blockbuster video rental store will open in Manchester's Northern Quarter later this month. Bosses of the Blockbusters NQ bar say they will be ready to open to the public on May 27, eight years after the last Blockbuster branch closed its doors for the final time due to the rise of streamed content.
Expect walls covered in video cassettes, vintage TVs scattered across the venue playing cult films, and stereos "banging out iconic soundtracks". The site began taking shape on Oldham Street back in January, as reported by the MEN at the time, giving many people nostalgic flashbacks to the VHS and DVD rental era of their youth.
In new details confirmed by the owners this week, the venue will be spread across two floors in the Northern Quarter site. The entrance will be through what looks like the classic blue and yellow exterior of an old Blockbusters rental shop.
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The main area upstairs is modelled closely to a classic Blockbuster with a ‘naughty films’ section hidden at the back. Downstairs has an Art Deco/Cinema vibe with black walls, velvet chairs and a sparkly stage for performances.
Cocktails will continue the classic movie and rentals them. They will include ‘PG &T’ a G&T with a pomegranate twist, the “VHS’presso martini” a new take on the espresso martini with a licorice swirl to represent a classic VHS tape, and the Alcopop-corn cocktail, a creamy and sweet popcorn inspired drink.
Bar snacks served at the venue will include a range of classic popcorn with modern twists on flavour like ‘roast chicken’ and ‘beef burger’. The bar has been created by the team behind South African restaurant Chakalaka also in the Northern Quarter.
Owner Stewart Dean said: “I truly wanted to make somewhere special that people get excited by. I was a huge fan of video stores and my favourite bars are those that immerse you in a secret or provide a bit of an escape.
"I thought what better homage to an iconic part of our history than to create a parody of Blockbuster, one where you can drink. And the only returns here are for another hit of fun and nostalgia.”
For those who may not recall the pre-streaming rental era of the 90s and 00s, Blockbuster was an American giant that swiftly expanded across the UK to feed demand for home videos and latterly DVDs to watch the latest movies at home.
The growth of mail-order services and then on-demand internet streaming sites in the noughties sounded the death knell for the shop rental business, which began to close stores across the world in 2010. Only one franchised Blockbuster rental store remains open - in Oregon in the United States of America.
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