Island store wants to stop Blockbuster

ALAMEDA -- If Video Station were a movie like the 22,000 titles it stocks on its shelves, you'd find it in the "feel-good" section.

The story of how Ken and Peggie Dorrance ditched established careers in the early 1980s to start what is now Alameda's oldest and perhaps most-loved video store is a homey little drama with an impressive cast of

40,000 loyal customers.

But with Blockbuster threatening to move across the street, the owners say it's as if a distracted store clerk misfiled the rental house under "horror."

Owner Ken Dorrance stayed quiet when Blockbuster opened first one, then another location on the Island in the 1990s, he said Wednesday in the Broadway store he opened the same year "Raiders of the Lost Ark" hit theaters.

Dorrance said he is not against competition, but a third store -- particularly one directly across the street -- would bury him.

He asked the City Council this week to rewrite its agreement with Bridgeside Shopping Center developer Foothill Partners to exclude national video chains from the plaza when it is rebuilt next year.

Foothill owner Doug Wiele was at the City Council meeting Tuesday and told the council only one lease has been signed for the revitalized shopping center -- with Nob Hill Foods, the plaza's anchor tenant.

Dorrance shares a seat on the Video Software Dealers Association board with Blockbuster CEO John Antioco, whom Dorrance said he has called for help.

"We are not just a little mom and pop shop down the street," he said. "I won't go quietly."

It's a familiar storyline to city planners who must balance growth while protecting small businesses.

Video Station is a vanishing breed of independent video rental stores. Its shelves are stocked thick with films from the golden age of cinema, B-movies and just as many current releases as any national competitor.

But the marketplace has always al-

lowed developers to do their own leasing, Leslie Little, the city's development services director, said Wednesday.

She advised the City Council on Tuesday that it would set a dangerous precedent by nixing video chains from the mix at Bridgeside. Pretty soon every ice cream parlor and pizza shop in the neighborhood could ask for a moratorium, she said.

The council at first seemed eager to comply with the request by Dorrance, who told of supporting numerous scout troops, Little League teams and school groups at the shop named "National Video Store of the Year" this year by the Video Software Dealers Association.

Councilwoman Barbara Kerr and Councilman Frank Matarrese showed an interest in rewriting the development agreement, heaping praise on the quirky store known as much for its pizza as its eclectic selection.

Heeding city staff advice, the council members ordered staff to advise them on lease agreements at the plaza as they develop.

Dorrance said he is relatively pleased with the council's response but says the argument about setting precedent is silly.

Local businesses scattered when Albertsons pulled out of Bridgeside in 1997, and now the plaza is all but vacant.

"There is nobody else. Look around," he said.

Contact Susan McDonough at smcdonough@angnewspapers.com .

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