PORT ANGELES — This independent video store could be the set for a bittersweet comedy complete with car crash, period costumes and a happy ending this weekend.
The story begins at Westside Video & Tan, a 24-year-old shop at the corner of Eighth and B streets, which had a new owner and a new look at the start of 2010.
Anami Cloud bought the twofold shop from James Roberts and added a third aspect: Consignment of the Times, a pre-owned apparel boutique.
Then, on the morning of July 5, a traffic wreck pushed a pickup truck into Westside’s wall.
Good neighborhood
The store wasn’t open yet, so no one was inside; the drivers of the vehicles were treated by paramedics at the scene.
Earlier this week, Cloud said she’s still awaiting an insurance settlement to cover repairs to the Westside building.
“So far, we’ve had to pay for everything out-of-pocket,” she said.
Yet in the months since the crash, Cloud has discovered the meaning of “neighborhood” store.
“The customers volunteered to help put the store back together,” she said. “I just kind of stepped into this west-side family.”
So Cloud, along with her daughter, Nyyra, 10, are hosting a grand reopening party today through Sunday, with specials on rentals of Westside’s 7,000 DVD and Blu-Ray videos.
Grand reopening
During this grand reopening weekend, Cloud is making light of her plight.
She’s got “unintentional drive-through specials” on clothing and on video rentals, plus prize drawings and free popcorn for the movie crowd.
And she asks but one thing of her customers: “Park in the rear, not inside.”
Alongside all the mainstream fare, she stocks independent films, documentaries, foreign films and art-house movies.
“What sets us apart is that we have movies you’re not going to find in a box or at a kiosk,” Cloud said.
So there’s “Avatar,” but also “And Then Came Lola,” as well as “2001 Maniacs” and other “cheesy B artistic horror movies,” Cloud said.
“We concentrate on having a library of older movies,” and if there’s an offbeat movie out there that you’re dying to own, Cloud said she is happy to special-order it.
One more parallel plot line: professional disc repair services. Most damaged CDs and DVDs can be saved, Cloud said.
When asked what inspired her to open a consignment shop, the proprietor — and she prefers that vintage word for “owner” — said she felt the town could use a place specializing in used vintage clothing, used apparel for hiking and other outdoor pursuits, and new creations by local designers.
“Videos and tanning are both industries that are slowing down,” she said. So in January, Cloud added something old and something new in Consignment of the Times.
Specialized consignment
It turned out to indeed be the time, as at least three other such shops proceeded to open in Port Angeles.
Cloud is now taking in new consignments of fall and winter clothes and emphasized that she accepts vintage apparel and menswear.
All three parts of the store — videos, tanning and clothing — are open from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
