Atascadero video store was about to close. Then another business found it a new home
A longtime Atascadero video rental store on the brink of closing will remain open, after all — thanks to an assist from another local business.
John’s Video Palace was preparing to close after nearly 31 years renting movies on El Camino Real. Owner John Taft’s rent had been increasing steadily, and he hadn’t raised prices on his video rentals in more than a decade.
But another Atascadero business owner saw a post from Taft’s wife on Facebook and decided to take action.
Jodi Bloom — who owns Bloom N Grow flower shop about a mile down the road — happened to have a vacant space for rent in her building. She reached out to Taft to see if he would be interested in moving to a new spot.
“It’s a win-win,” Bloom said. “Here we are, two family businesses joining forces.”
Taft will be moving to a space that’s about 1,000 square feet — significantly smaller than his current 3,000-square-foot store.
His current lease expires at the end of July, so he’ll likely move to the new spot toward the middle of the month.
“It’s a total miracle,” Taft said. “We thought we were done, but nope.”
Bloom said the arrangement will be beneficial for both businesses, as they can each drive foot traffic to each other’s stores.
She owns her building and has been in business in her current location for nearly 20 years. Bloom shrunk down her store’s footprint to create another space she could rent.
Since the previous tenant, Triple Seven Marketplace, moved out, Bloom has been searching for another business to take over the space.
“It’s nice when things all come together,” she said.
This story was originally published May 29, 2019 at 1:25 PM.
