Fake Blockbuster in Los Angeles rewinds to a pre-Netflix era

A pop-up speakeasy evokes a particular nostalgia – perhaps because the chain was one of the first victims of ‘disruption’

On an otherwise unremarkable Los Angeles street corner hangs a familiar blue and yellow logo, forcing passersby to do a double-take.

The image of a ripped ticket stub belongs to ye olde Blockbuster Video, the once ubiquitous US rental chain destroyed by Netflix. But the Blockbuster on Melrose Avenue isn’t actually a store at all – it’s a pop-up speakeasy.