Ellwood City Family Video Closed Operations on Monday

The Ellwood City Family Video, located on 807 Lawrence Ave., closed operations on Monday.

The store’s function will be absorbed by two other Family Video locations in New Castle and New Brighton. Employees at the Ellwood store will keep their jobs at the other locations.

The Family Video chain, based in Glenview, Ill., owns the property, which will be rented to DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita Health Partners. It is unknown when the care center will open.

“It was the only local place to rent movies and games because, let’s be honest, Netflix doesn’t have everything,” Stephani Damato, Ellwood resident and a former Family Video employee, said. “I used to go every weekend, and I’m very sad to see it go.”

“Once I had a late fee and it was waived and I got a free movie,” an anonymous customer said.

The Ellwood Family Video has been in operation since 2008. It was the only video store in the Ellwood City area after Blockbuster on Route 288 and Video World on Line Avenue closed.

Photos by Jonathan Cortez/EllwoodCity.org.