Rosebud Video, Asheville’s oldest indy video rental shop, is closing

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Rosebud Video, Asheville’s oldest independent video rental shop, is closing its doors. The shop, first located in downtown before moving north to Charlotte Street, has rented videos to residents for more than 25 years.

In a Facebook post, Asheville author Tommy Hays, director of UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program, talks about his connection to the shop:

My heart is broken.Tonight I learned that our beloved Rosebud Video, only blocks from our house, is going out of business in the next few days. For decades, it’s been such a big part of our neighborhood in all its incarnations as Videolife, then Segrof’s and finally Rosebud. When the kids were little we’d go down there and they’d argue over which movie to watch. Connie and I have rented hundreds of movies from there over the years. And whenever I found myself alone in the evening, there was nothing I liked better than going down to Rosebud and picking out a movie without having to worry about anybody’s taste but my own. Farewell Rosebud, it just won’t be the same around here.

About a month ago, a Rosebud employee launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to buy the shop. “The current owner of Rosebud has decided to retire from the rental business and I am looking to continue Rosebud’s legacy! Your contribution will help me to achieve this goal,” the employee wrote.

The campaign apparently wasn’t successful.

Here’s more about Rosebud Video, from their website:

In addition to classic films, Rosebud Video features mainstream and current movies, plus a large collection of foreign, independent, gay and lesbian, and documentary films. With more than 12,000 individual titles in our collection we are the largest and most diverse video store in the area. The layout of the store features sections of films from Iraq, Taiwan, Argentina, Denmark and Poland, to name a few of the countries represented. There are also shelves devoted to the American Film Institutes Top 100, all the Academy Award Winners from 1928 to present, The Criterion Collection, and films made in Western North Carolina. We are also continuously adding new and old films from all different genres. Please stop by and browse our selection.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

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2 Comments

  1. N December 4, 2016

    A major, major loss to the community. Nobody had the kind of selection Rosebud had from foreign and indie movies to long classics, to the latest releases. Their section devoted to the Criterion Collection alone was worth the trip. Will somebody step in to fill the massive void?

    Reply
  2. Matt McClure December 3, 2016

    Sad to see a classic standby fade away, but nothing lasts forever. They weren’t exactly on their A-game as a business, and it’s a tough time to be a movie rental shop, AND a tough town to maintain an Indy business, so I’m impressed they stuck it out for as long as they did.

    Reply

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