Video Ezy Mt Druitt set to close

In a blow to nostalgic Sydneysiders, Mt Druitt’s iconic Video Ezy store will shut down for good next month. But it wasn’t falling profits that led to its shock ending.

Video Ezy Mt Druitt is closing down next month. Picture: Heath Parkes-Hupton

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February 28, 2019 will mark the end of an era not only for Geoffrey Hooper’s loyal customers, but for the whole of Sydney.

It will be the day that the credits will roll for Mr Hooper’s Video Ezy store in Mt Druitt — the last franchise in Sydney of the once booming brand — which he has owned and run for 26 years.

In the end it was his own ill health, not the rise of pay TV or streaming services, that brought the curtain down on the popular Zoe Place store. Mr Hooper was diagnosed with cancer late last year.

Owner Geoffrey Hooper has decided to close the store after being diagnosed with cancer. Picture: Heath Parkes-Hupton

“I don’t know when I will be able to come back to work, so I knew it was time to go,” he said.

“If I tried to do both (work and undergo treatment) I might not survive.”

Despite the 72 year old’s store holding 15-20,000 titles, he doesn’t particularly consider himself to be a movie buff and can’t decide on a favourite actor.

Mr Hooper said it was his love for the community and customers that had made it too hard to give up his business even in the face of falling profits and new competitors.

Video Ezy Mt Druitt will be selling all of its films at a reduced price. Picture: Heath Parkes-Hupton

“They told me that Foxtel was going to get me for 25 years,” he said.

“I’m just a stubborn old bugger. I hadn’t been able to retire yet because I didn’t want to.”

He remembers when the Ben & Jerry’s fridge arrived — when they were still few and far between in Sydney — and locals bombarded the store to get a taste.

Mr Hooper’s Mt Druitt venue outlasted hundreds of stores around the city, there are only a handful left, and has become a pilgrimage for nostalgic Sydneysiders.

“Someone recently came here from the Northern Beaches to show his kids what a video store was like,” he said.

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Mr Hooper said his 11 video kiosks stationed around western Sydney helped keep his business afloat, alongside DVD and Blu-ray sales on eBay.

Now he’s selling discounted films (he estimates there are 40,000 discs in the store), games, food and even the shelves stock once sat on until the end of February.

New release rentals are still available until January 31, after which they will also go on sale.

Details: https://www.facebook.com/Video-Ezy-Mt-Druitt-1645632132248917/?modal=admin_todo_tour