Movies on Central was a gay owned / operated video store in the Uptown district of Phoenix. Established in 1995 by Robert Foster, it was just what the area needed.

An alternative to Block Buster, a place you could get many hard-to-find gay documentaries and films. Oh, and yes… of course there was the backroom to find some of my favorites flicks.

It was located in what some thought of as the heart of Phoenix’ gay area, if Phoenix could actually boast such a thing. The Xavier Square shops also house Unique on Central, a long time gay retailer. Since completion of the Metro Light Rail line, the shops have experienced a rebirth with the opening of Haus, Lola Coffee and that cute pet supplies place, Oxford and Allie? Something like that.

Even more exciting for the area is the planned Hula’s Modern Tiki. Currently under construction, should be open within a few months.

With all of this excitement about openings, hardly anybody noticed a closing. A very sad closing. I heard that Movies on Central staff were spotted packing a big U-Haul out front last week.

Here I was fretting about the anticipated late fees on Hot House’s “Masterpiece“, huh… I could have kept it even longer! My favorite Uptown gay movies place is no more. As I arrived at their door, lights were out, shelves were bare. Nothing left to see but the 8 1/2 x 11 typed note, taped to the inside of the window.

A sadness crept over me, I thought of what’s his name… Little Big Voice? He was ALWAYS so helpful and such a sweetie… David I think it is…was… what would happen to him?

Further research led me to David’s Facebook page, which I’ll quote below:

More Trouble in Troubled Times
Wed at 1:55am
OK, this is for all my friends out there so that you are all in the know, and I don’t have to address everyone separately. In short, Movies On Central-my employer-has effectively been evicted from the property in which it has taken residence for the past 14 years. Davis Enterprises, a corporate, family-run property management co. (mis) manages the business complex at 4700 N Central Avenue in uptown Phoenix. MOC was a thriving business from its inception in 1995 and continued to steadily grow and win local accolades and notoriety throughout its first 10 years of operation. That is, until the uncontrollable monster that is Phoenix Metro Light Rail was born.

Now I know that there are various opinions on the Light Rail. It has its supporters and detractors, all of which have valid arguments for their positions. But this is just one story of the effect it has had on one business (though certainly not the ONLY business.) In May of 2006, construction officially began on the light rail project. Being that our business was located right off Central Avenue, the construction was right in our “front yard,” and directly on our main route of access. The street was torn up so badly at various points that there WAS no street. Central Avenue was completely inaccessible much of the time for at least a year and a half. Our numbers began to noticeably and sharply plummet that very same month the construction began. They have continued to decline over the past few years, basically going back down to the levels they were at in the first couple of years of operation. It cannot simply be a coincidence that this drop happened EXACTLY the moment the construction began. People stayed away from the area in droves, and continued to stay away as they had probably turned to other options via Netflix, Redbox, On Demand, or whatever. Then the economy tanked, just in time for the Light Rail to open! How ironic. In any case, the Light Rail has not been the cash cow that it was promised to be for local businesses, and we were never able to get back that business we had lost to its construction.

However, amidst all this gloom, MOC still had a loyal following and customer base, and although we may not have been thriving, we were surviving. Until the people at Davis Enterprises decided in the last quarter of 2008 to jack up the rent of its tenants to astronomical levels. Several of the business owners in the complex had to file for bankruptcy this past year just to keep their heads above water, and the management decides to hike up the rent. And I mean HIKE! And so the beginning of the end for Movies On Central was set in motion.

The management, in their starry-eyed capitalist droolings, started to see growth in the area, as new businesses were expressing interest in the vacancies on the property, and began to see big dollar signs clouding up their vision. Even though several of the long established businesses there had to significantly downsize in order to stay alive. We began to have great hardship when the rent was increased and had fallen behind, so we decided to downsize as well. However, we were met with either indifference or obstinance at every turn by the management. After finally getting the go-ahead to downsize, we had begun the process of moving all of our inventory into the front of the store, over half of which was already done, when all of a sudden , the management decided “oh, but we want you to move BACK into the suites off street.” Turns out they wanted that front corner space so they could charge top dollar for the next business to move in. OK, fine. But then no concessions were made to accommodate that move. A few weeks later, it was then suggested that we move into the back corner of the complex, back by the dumpsters. A tiny suite with no windows, without its own door, in the back of another business. For a well-established business that has been there for 14 years, that is simply insulting. And because we were a couple of months behind in the rent, when we refused their idea, we were evicted.

I thoroughly believe that they were wanting the space we were occupying to rent out to someone else from whom they could get more money. Plain and simple. And what is really upsetting is that MOC stuck around, steadfastly paid rent, and was essentially the ANCHOR of the complex during all of that construction when no one else wanted to touch the place. And so what do they do the minute there are some signs of life, they boot us!? All I can say is that it is people such as this who are the reason we are in such an economic downturn in the first place, and they apparently STILL haven’t learned their lesson. When numbers become more important than people, we are all destined to fail.

However, this is not necessarily the end for Movies On ??? We are looking for a new home. There is already a backlash growing over what has happened to us, and the local business community has been incredibly supportive. The overall consensus seems to be that we are indeed a fixture in the community and people are not ready to see us go down, not in this way. We have already scouted some new locations and have had offers from people who own space for rent. The New Times has gotten wind of it and wants to do a feature story about us. So there is hope. But for the time being, it is just a waiting game to see what happens next. And I am temporarily unemployed.

Keep your fingers crossed, everyone. And spread the word if you can. Every small effort is going to help at this point.

BTW If anyone knows of any job leads, please let me know!

[where: 4700 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85013]