Okay we're recording can you hear me.

yeah awesome so I guess First things first did you sign the waiver.

As a consent form.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I did.

Beau Newsome: No, no trouble there.

Ian Pannkuk: No yeah.

Beau Newsome: right on Well, my name is Bo newsome i'm here with the University of Idaho.

library we're doing an oral history on Howard Hughes video in the videos or I guess mainstream video co op always.

A struggle with that one because I wasn't there at the time, you know.

But we have impact cookie and, if you want to just say your name and describe your relationship to Howard Hughes video and the main street co op.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah so my name is Ian pan cook I have had a long relationship with Howard Hughes video and the mainstream media co op I started going to Howard Hughes as a customer as just a kid and then eventually started working there in.

2014 I want to say and then became a Co manager and helped the Main Street video co op take off, and you know gather owners and by the store and and.

And then, after I was done being co manager of the store I stayed on the board or I joined the board of the mainstream media co op and then right at the end, I was the chair of the mainstream video co op.

Beau Newsome: Oh wow okay cool now you say you started in 2014 that was I was, I think I was manager.

Ian Pannkuk: The time yeah.

yeah you were manager and i'm.

Beau Newsome: Like.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah you hired me on my birthday.

Really yeah.

Beau Newsome: Did you interview on your birthday or did I just hear you on your birthday.

Ian Pannkuk: Both cuz oh no he just said it right at the end of the interview like good enough.

Beau Newsome: Well yeah you so you mentioned that you have been so I remember the parent.

Family you guys used to come in.

on time so.

In these interviews I kind of.

Talk about there's four iterations of the store.

yeah so there's the small video store attached the appliance store on.

On Washington.

Ian Pannkuk: Right.

Beau Newsome: And then it expanded into the big store on fifth street.

And then the Main Street 520 South main and then, of course, when the Main Street location became the.

mainstream call video means means.

Ian Pannkuk: To co op I mean she video going.

Beau Newsome: Ah, what does it he.

msnbc.

Beau Newsome: Okay it's a good it's good way to remember it.

So yeah so I.

didn't start working there until the the big expansion of the fifth street store and that's when I remember you guys coming in stuff so.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah I wonder.

I bet we were going to it a little bit before that fifth street store, but that was sort of before my memories of the story started I.

I remember going to it a lot, and then, when we we used to my family's to live outside Moscow quite a ways and then, when we moved into town as about 12 years old, it was 2002 and then it started to become my job to go down to the store for the whole family and.

The movies, that they had all.

decided on beforehand it's.

Beau Newsome: 2002 was on the fifth street.

Expansion bigger store.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah I think so, I mean that's what I remember.

Beau Newsome: Yes, okay.

Do you remember your account number.

The family account number.

Ian Pannkuk: It wasn't for 345 was it, I think it was.

Beau Newsome: 434 or five as I remember it being a four digit.

Ian Pannkuk: number.

It was a four digit number and it's definitely something that's probably stuck in my my memory somewhere that's the one that comes to mind anyway.

Beau Newsome: yeah yeah a lot of people still have their little sticker with their account number on it and stuff.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: um How often do you guys, so there was four of you.

know your mom and dad Chris and.

molly holly and then your sister.

Meg Meg that's right yeah How often do you guys do like you rented down there.

Ian Pannkuk: um I think as a family, we had a movie night, probably at least once a week Sundays was sort of our day where we would all watch a movie together.

But that meant that you know when I was old enough to be you know allowed to watch a movie whenever I felt like it, and my sister was.

watching her own movies Whenever she felt like it, and my dad would watch movies at different times you know, during the week that he wanted to my mom was kind of the only one who didn't have her own set.

schedule of watching movies, she would only really get in on the family movie night so probably.

Probably only twice a week, did we go to the movie store only.

But everybody had piles of movies sitting exactly it was at least five.

probably more than five movies, a week that we would get from the store in the heyday.

Beau Newsome: And if I remember right a lot of kids would have to we'd have to call their parents in order for the kids to rent.

Ian Pannkuk: On the account rated R or something.

Beau Newsome: I think you guys had carte blanche I don't think.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah that sounds like my family in general yeah like they knew that if I was watching a rated R movie wasn't for any.

weird reason they would just be like yeah if he wants to watch a rated R movie that's probably fine.

Beau Newsome: Let him watch it yeah.

Did you rented any other you remember renting it any other video stores in town.

Ian Pannkuk: No, we never did you know I don't think there was ever any reason to there was never any movies that got to what safeway or I mean eventually red box, I definitely wouldn't have gone to a red box, by the time it popped up, I was already like diehard Howard Hughes fan.

blockbuster you know I don't I don't think there was ever anything that they offered that Howard Hughes wouldn't have had.

Beau Newsome: Right, except for maybe we've got into this a few recordings about just the number of sheer number of new releases I guess.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah that was that was really it, and as long as you were okay sort of striking out every once in a while and Howard Hughes and and switching to your backup plan.

yeah The only other thing that I probably did was go to Hastings to buy movies, all the time.

Because Howard Hughes was not really the place to go to buy a used movie they were barely any.

Right went for sale.

Beau Newsome: Really yeah but more the more library we accumulated we would start kind of selling off, you know but man, they were Rentals and they were beat up and.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah right exactly so.

Beau Newsome: Now you can get them for five bucks but.

Ian Pannkuk: A.

couple of things, less than a yeah.

Beau Newsome: So do you still have a pretty big DVD collection of stuff you've bought purchase.

Ian Pannkuk: it's not that big no I was, I never I never really accumulated my parents also never really accumulated too big, of a collection I mainly just own.

Like a couple big movies, that I am like a huge fan of that are sort of like the I would be ashamed of myself if I didn't own this one, and then a couple of very random things you know just completely strange things that I picked up on a whim, for some reason or other.

Beau Newsome: Oh yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah my own collection is pretty small, which is kind of a bummer actually.

Beau Newsome: yeah I kind of had like regrets about buying so many DVDs.

And i'm like what am I going to do with these.

yeah and another thing was Howard Hughes videos just right down the road, so I can, I have a library there to choose from.

Right now i'm like no i'm glad I purchased purchase them and kept them and stuff like that.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah now i'm sort of regretting not having a big huge collection, because now, when I want to watch akira that's gonna be really hard to find.

I don't own that because it's really expensive to buy and now that Howard Hughes doesn't exist.

Beau Newsome: Where do you get it.

Ian Pannkuk: Where do I go go watch akira.

Beau Newsome: side note about akira That was the first anime i've ever seen.

yeah I never really got into anime.

But I think I was in high school when I first saw here and it just blew my mind.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah no it's a crazy good movie.

Beau Newsome: And isn't somebody's mind expanding and that was.

Ian Pannkuk: Literally like literally.

Beau Newsome: So what do you think was unique about how to use video at the time.

Ian Pannkuk: Well, you know I think a lot of other video stores in Moscow and in other places that I went to I knew a video rental store in Santa Cruz, where my grandparents lived.

That did it this way, where they kind of just buy everything that's new and then they keep the ones that still work and what I think Howard Hughes did, that was a little bit special is.

going out of their way to make sure to pick up eclectic movies foreign movies, having the criterion collection.

You know, and when Ben and I Ben hardcastle and I were co managers, the store together, and when we would look at new movies.

We always just made sure that it wasn't just the AAA movies, of the week or the sort of general appeal, you know comedies that might be a little lower budget but are still going to rent off the shelves your your Kevin Hart movies, in your you know things like that.

Beau Newsome: 2727 dresses.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah exactly.

uh other than that we always made sure to to look at the all the new releases and say hey you know, maybe this foreign film isn't going to rent more than a couple times, but we should pick it up, we should try and we should try and pick it up because.

In the long run our collection.

Was exciting.

It was it was for people to learn about films to not just.

rent.

You know their favorites, which is also a great reason to have a movie stars don't get me wrong.

Beau Newsome: yeah I think you know, because a lot of film classes up to you, by which hold movies, and be like hey send their students to our store, because I was the only place you could get it.

But I remember Chris Barber he was a Co worker there and manager one point.

He said he watched the special features of panic room.

And he was like that's like taking a four hour film class.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah there's some cool stuff like that that you'd never find in other places.

You know and there's.

The documentary section is a great section that you probably wouldn't be able to find it a blockbuster a lot of the time, not a not a really serious documentary section.

And my favorite section in the whole store actually is the cult classic section and that's another good example and that's something that in another store if those movies, were in there they'd be scattered to the winds.

A lot of the time they'd be in you know little shop of horrors might be in comedy and.

i'm trying to think of a good, you know there'd be a few horror, you know in horror and there'd be a few in SCI fi and things like that, but.

Beau Newsome: For the Elsa movies would be in German.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah exactly but there's there's a real feeling to call the cult classic section there's a there's a real separation between those movies, and you know your other horror movies, and your other SCI fi and things.

Beau Newsome: yeah that was that was gonna be my question what was your favorite section in the store and.

yeah.

glad they're called classic.

Ian Pannkuk: I think it is, I think it has to be called classics maybe it's not the section I go to the most often because I always watched too many movies so it's probably new releases that I went to the most often.

But other than that, I think the cult classics always had me the most interested and I love foreign films, too, and I like to sort of play around and get in two different sections to sort of learn like gosh how do German movies feel differently from you know.

French films and it's very shockingly different always.

And you know I really liked like our section there but.

But also i'm a big fan of kind of weird and absurd and and, at times, bad movies.

Beau Newsome: And because cult.

classics is right up.

Ian Pannkuk: Exactly exactly it had all those categories covered.

Beau Newsome: You might notice too that there's some are you getting the transcript down below.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah I know that yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: And to if you need to pause it anytime just let me know.

sure we can easily pause going.

yeah my friend and I always talk about the movie affliction which.

In cult classics it was like a documentary of like.

People doing absurd things on stage and, like carnivals and stuff like.

Ian Pannkuk: That okay yeah and we're like not the nick multi movie.

Beau Newsome: don't confuse it with the nick Nolte a movie that was in cold classics not that a flexor in a credit to noise yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: two totally different.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah exactly.

Beau Newsome: um do you have some favorite foreign films, so you remember watching and we're kind of.

I guess to stand out more than others.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah i'd say, I have three very different ones that sort of come to mind.

One of them was.

My sort of first foray into learning about different like foreign films and, like the history of film was back when I was a teenager.

I sort of just would get into separate directors and go on a binge of directors and then one day I you know learned about Fritz Lang and you know just said hey you know, maybe I should check out Fritz Lang you know.

Father of cinema in a way.

And you know I watched a bunch of Fritz Lang movies and watch the movie m.

O and.

Beau Newsome: You know metropolis.

Ian Pannkuk: metropolis is is where a lot of people go with Fritz Lang and there's you know, a couple other classics go alone, you know.

not kept Calgary Canada.

yeah California that's.

Beau Newsome: Dr Gallagher yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah but and is actually my favorite one I think it's.

it's just a really outstanding story creepy really creepy and cool the sort of world that feels.

Foreign you know it feels almost like a science fiction, but when you get down to it, it's like not really at all it's just a city that's going through a really shitty time and, like a an overactive city watch kind of meeting.

That was going on.

Beau Newsome: I can't say i've seen it.

sounds awesome but.

Ian Pannkuk: It is the first serial killer movie do you like serial killer movies.

Beau Newsome: Oh wow.

Is it.

A silent film.

Ian Pannkuk: Yes, yes.

Beau Newsome: Where the I guess the.

Words come up on a page and then.

Ian Pannkuk: Yes, back to the it's clever because one of the things it does for the soundtrack was the the this character, who whistles he's he's whistling.

In the hall of the mountain king, I think.

The song that he whistles and he's kind of bad at it too.

he's like not a very good whistler but like that was that that era where you know silent films they had this this musical track, but then, this was like let's add in an audio track that isn't.

it's not going to sync up directly to his face but it hardly needs to he's just whistling you're not going to be able to tell when he was making one note versus another so to use that so it's almost a step between silent and.

talkies.

Okay, but yeah that's a great that's a really great movie.

yeah and then the next that I think that I got into is maybe my favorite movie of all time Andre tarkovsky stalker.

Beau Newsome: hmm now they're serial killer movie now just.

Ian Pannkuk: No totally not strangely it's not about a stalker at all it's an acronym.

Beau Newsome: Who who directed that one.

tarkovsky tarkovsky okay.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah director in the USSR really visionary guy the only reason, most people hadn't heard of him was because the US was sort of boycotting all USSR movies.

Beau Newsome: Did you do solaris.

Ian Pannkuk: Yes.

Beau Newsome: yeah okay George clooney remade it.

Ian Pannkuk: Right exactly.

Beau Newsome: Yes, Laura supposed to be considered one of the.

Best yeah space movies, of all time.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah definitely yeah and stalker is really long it's definitely not for everyone, but I, I also think it's really beautiful and crazy and it just takes takes your breath away.

In a way, that not a lot of movies can achieve I think it's a really good one.

And then, more recently, and this one, I think, is a real credit to Howard Hughes I just don't think I would have found it without sort of the continual upkeep of foreign films and that's forced mature.

yeah yeah.

I really liked that movie.

Beau Newsome: I remember ordering that one and watching it.

mean like this is incredible and then they remain it.

Ian Pannkuk: Oh God today.

Beau Newsome: I did they remade it.

Will ferrell and Julia louie Dreyfus was called down hill.

Ian Pannkuk: Oh boy that's yeah no I don't know about.

That sorry every day I love Julia louie Dreyfus.

Will ferrell is great, but I don't think they could do it for sure.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: that's cool yeah that's a that's a great movie.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah and I also really liked the French Swedish English right.

Beau Newsome: For that one.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah they spoke all three language.

Beau Newsome: Okay yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah and it's kind of hard to even tell.

Beau Newsome: yeah one cool thing about Do you remember a lot of the employees as you're a customer they're like like helping you out or anything like that.

yeah yeah sure Ben Ben was probably there when you're going in.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah definitely Ben Taylor wes and you.

Oh.

shoot what was her name.

Maybe she was even the manager right, no, no, she wasn't a manager, she was definitely employee of yours and maybe was leaving right when I was starting.

Chris Chris yes, Chris was an ex yeah.

Beau Newsome: Yes, crystal the next.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yes yeah those are the employees that I remember the mass delete.

Beau Newsome: Okay cool.

yeah i'm hoping to get Taylor.

Taylor brinkley to interview on this now, he was a long time visitor.

Ian Pannkuk: Exactly yeah.

Beau Newsome: that's cool yeah Those are three awesome foreign films.

That you brought up.

so well, I guess, one of the questions is how did the video store affect your life you can't are already gone into that.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: Your family.

How did your family renting out for so long, how did the video sort change over the years that you kind of noticed as a customer maybe not a manager will get to that.

Ian Pannkuk: As a customer you know, I think it was it was a little bit of a bummer when they had to move into the smaller store.

The bigger store felt like.

had enough space to sort of have the whole collection and browse and wonder, and I feel like the smaller store was like at capacity.

The whole time.

The whole.

Ian Pannkuk: space for a single new box of movie.

Beau Newsome: yeah we talked about that move, and that was just.

Mind blowing that we even got it.

Ian Pannkuk: Down yeah yeah yeah that that that was a big change, you know I never disliked the new store it was always interesting and odd space that the raised platforms and strange a little back room for the godzilla and doctor who star trek room.

yeah but.

yeah no I mean, as it changed over the years, it was just sort of slowly reacting to the culture of netflix I think the one of the biggest you know.

detractors of the store was always netflix.

The bigger netflix is online collection got the less people started coming in red box was the other thing just having a drive through with only 10 options, but some people like that more than going to the video store I guess.

The bummer.

Beau Newsome: Or what formats are using right now to watch movies.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah you know i'm still a big movie fan, and I still try and watch new things, all the time until I end up having a bunch of subscriptions that I.

share with a bunch of different people so hulu and HBO netflix you know, sometimes they get cancelled in the offseasons and sometimes they come back when there's a new movie or show that I need to watch.

Disney plus two boy it's way too many and I knew this was coming along time ago you know cable TV was this way when it started it seemed like a great option oh it's going to have a million channels and then all of a sudden you're going to pay, you know.

$80 for this basic package and then 15 extra for this extra and 15 extra for this extra and.

And I knew that that was the way that streaming services we're going to go and they're still going that way.

More and more streaming services are going to appear they're going to fight for the intellectual properties.

Each one is going to get a little bit smaller in their collection and they're still going to charge the same amount and, at the end of the day, if you want to watch every new show that everyone's talking about you're going to pay $100 a month.

Beau Newsome: yep yeah that's yeah that's awesome you say that because I have that same thought that was specially with paramount plus.

Ian Pannkuk: It was like.

Beau Newsome: Oh say netflix or Amazon or whatever had all these paramount movies paramount's like.

Ian Pannkuk: No, we want you want those back.

Beau Newsome: And we want those back.

And it's just becoming like cable like.

Ian Pannkuk: peacock did the same thing, there were you know NBC shows on all bunch of different platforms and now they're all slowly going away just to go into peacock and who is the other one maybe AMC I think they have already launched their streaming when they're just not that successful yet.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: P peacock.

and

Beau Newsome: Paramount stand out as the to newer ones.

Ian Pannkuk: I guess but yeah.

Beau Newsome: it's all gonna it's all gonna go that way.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah exactly.

Beau Newsome: And then we're back to cable prices.

Ian Pannkuk: Or you know you're gonna have your your different cultures of people who say like no I only have Disney plus and hulu.

And then I want I don't have either of those i've nothing to talk to you about right yeah you can't watch the same thing.

Beau Newsome: yeah that's one thing I miss about the video store is just being around.

people to talk to them about movies, with you know.

Whether it be other employees.

or customers, you know.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah definitely yeah the regulars.

And the employees that we, in my experience, it was always sort of an employee customer relationship, I never really got into big conversations with other customers down at the store some people might do that, though, but I had my best conversations just with an employee.

Talking about you know Oh well, we just watched you.

Know X y&z new movies, this month.

mm hmm.

Beau Newsome: So a perfect way to segue right into.

When you were hired on your birthday started working at the video, so I knew once I saw your last name in you know, I was like oh he's pretty much hired.

I guess what was it like working being an employee of the video store.

Ian Pannkuk: You know, it was it was a really great place to work, I always really loved it, you know just the sort of minor organizational things you got going on and a little bit of you know tidying up the space and then the rest of it was spent on this customer service with a group of.

Really outstandingly good customers i've worked in a few other places with customer service and.

The video store was really just a really nice group of people you're always going to have you know some weird people some grumpy people and some.

annoying customers, but.

Beau Newsome: Late fees being.

Ian Pannkuk: Right, you have reacting delayed seasons never nice but.

But really overall customers at the video store where we're really fun group of people and.

You know, I think that was that was the best part about working there is just having those nice conversations with people, which was, I think the most important part of the job, the place the.

Sorry, the stammering a lot for some reason, the thing that's made Howard Hughes video stand out a lot was.

Just having people who knew.

A lot about movies, and could give you, you know kind of specific recommendations to you, and so are you know regular customers.

You know the employees who knew them well could say hey I just got in a new movie and when I saw the cover I thought of you and and that's what we could actually do that other places, never really tried.

Beau Newsome: Right yeah that was an it seems like Howard Hughes videos always been that way.

Ian Pannkuk: i'm.

Beau Newsome: Like even before I started working there when I was a kid renting it just the employees just always seem to love movies.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah.

Beau Newsome: And that was kind of a central thing about that store and and it just.

Created creativity and you know all that stuff and.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah no I exactly it really was always the culture of the store yeah.

Beau Newsome: Do any stories about regulars that pop out to you like, or anything crazy happen when you while you're working that that.

Ian Pannkuk: You know, a.

High I don't know if I have any good stories for the ui library collection, I feel like if someone wants to talk crazy stories to me, you can always call me up but.

I think I have to too weird of ones for this.

interview style.

Okay, let me think.

Beau Newsome: We can come back, we can circle back to.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah maybe one circle back to that question.

yeah.

i'll think about it.

Beau Newsome: If not, no, no big deal but it's.

So when you're working, how did you decide what to play on the monitors and stuff.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah you know it really became this fun kind of.

Personal activity that I got to do you know always I be able to share with whoever else was working with me but oftentimes no one really knows what to do, because you're.

If you work 30 hours a week or even 20 hours a week you're putting on 10 plus movies, every week 1010 movies, and so you don't really want to watch something you've seen last week.

So it has to be and and even last month you rather watch something new, each month.

And there's.

Ian Pannkuk: 40 movies, a month or something like that so became really challenging to just decide what to put on, so I would watch through entire TV shows that I didn't really care to know the actual plot of because i'd have to miss you know.

Our yeah the time if I got busy.

Beau Newsome: Definitely stuff you can't pay attention to.

philly some you don't care about the plot or it's something that you've seen so many times that you're like.

Ian Pannkuk: That.

Beau Newsome: I don't need to know what's going on.

Ian Pannkuk: Exactly so um you know i'd watched through entire TV shows, I found like a you know stargate was a really good one to put on just exciting enough and not racy enough for them general audiences.

boy I probably watched a ton of different shows like that.

I really liked putting on studio ghibli.

Yet, because of the music their soundtracks are amazing, and that was really great because then as an employee, even if you're not able to pay attention to the screen you're still enjoying the movie because of the soundtrack.

yeah and.

Beau Newsome: ghibli movies being.

spirited away Pio.

Ian Pannkuk: house moving Castle gnostic of the value that when i'm a huge fan of studio ghibli okay.

Beau Newsome: Grave of the fireflies and there's one other.

Ian Pannkuk: One right happy have a movie.

yeah Mon okay.

Beau Newsome: This one okay yeah exactly this there's a lot I would.

Ian Pannkuk: thinker, I guess, those are probably the biggest one so, but my neighbor totoro.

that's another huge one.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah i'm musicals another fun thing to put on in the background for the same exact reason.

And then my favorite of all time movie to put on when you might not have the brain capacity to be doing anything else is Star Wars, and so I probably watched Star Wars all move all the movies that were out at any given time.

Three times a year when I worked at Howard Hughes.

I didn't watch them watch them when it was working there, but I would have them on at least three times a year.

Beau Newsome: All of them.

yeah even the.

Early yeah.

Beau Newsome: The recent ones, all that.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah and you know, maybe a he walk type movie or.

something strange and.

Beau Newsome: I think Howard Hughes was.

The only place that had what was the Iraq movie.

can be your.

Courage and your door yeah.

We were like the only one that had it there was, like, I think, out of print or just wasn't available, and we had.

On vhs and DVD and people just clamoring for it.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I don't know why anyone clamorous for that movie.

yeah, but it would be like having the holiday special on on DVD, it is a it's a unique sort of thing.

Not good unique but unique.

Beau Newsome: Have you did you have other customer service jobs before Howard Hughes.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I worked at the U of I bookstore and I worked at the computer desk and that is a place to find some pretty angry customers.

Know sometimes people are excited to go.

There, and you know by pick out a new computer, but then, even at the best of times they're spending $2,000 on a computer so they might be just.

Anxious and not really super happy and no one really wants to have a in depth conversation with you there, because they feel like you're pressuring them to spend a cold crap load of money.

And then the main the main focus of their desk was sort of like the tech service and so people get pretty mad when their computer is broken, and they need it fixed today and I have to say, well, our tech is all the way booked this week.

yeah other customer service jobs.

Before Howard Hughes I don't think I had another customer service job before then.

The food service.

But not really in the customer facing ways.

And you.

Beau Newsome: Work in a restaurant.

Ian Pannkuk: I worked at arby's as a teenager.

And then I worked at D willie's and bbq.

Beau Newsome: Oh yeah yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: And just in the kitchen.

Beau Newsome: Okay yeah cuz I.

One thing i've mentioned a lot of times is we never had a shortage of applications.

For people wanting to work, the video store, yes it is customer service and it comes with it's.

it's you know, dealing with the customer kind of can get a little.

Dealing with the public can get a little aggravating at times are.

way down on you, but it.

seems like the video stores just was a little different because.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah.

Beau Newsome: you're surrounded by movies, you know.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah exactly yeah I agree, I think customer service was always a lot nicer there I worked, since then, at the The co op the food co op.

Beau Newsome: Oh yes, yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: And then being a volunteer organizer is a lot like customer service actually so I still do deal with that side of of.

talking to tons and tons of people every day or things like that.

Not as much right now but i'm sure it'll get back to that pretty soon.

But as a as a volunteer organizer and.

yeah and there is just something about the the pleasantness of picking out a movie that that even the the grumpiest of people are never in that bad of a mood.

Right when.

Beau Newsome: Do you have a maybe something that sticks, out of a recommendation, you gave to somebody that they were completely thrilled about.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah um.

I don't know I think I I.

I remember talking to maybe Daniel roscoe.

Who is an English professor of mine actually I took some classes.

Beau Newsome: yeah i'm hoping to interview him at some oh good good that'd be great.

Ian Pannkuk: Now i'm trying to remember, which foreign movie it was, I think it was the host by bong joon Ho.

Who just won an Oscar two years ago.

For parasite your site and was that two years ago, was that just last year.

Beau Newsome: No.

Ian Pannkuk: That was just last year hmm.

Beau Newsome: That was right before the pandemic.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah that's right.

Beau Newsome: February of 19.

yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: Maybe that wasn't the one that he ended up liking, though now i'm thinking back to it, but I think I I talked to him about a couple different form movies, and maybe it was forced mature and maybe it was a different bong joon home movie.

But I think oh yeah no, it was it was the host I also talked to him about the movie troll hunter which is.

Sure, but he thought it was very corny and he didn't end up liking it that much.

yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: People love that movie troll hunter was a huge renter, even though it was a foreign film.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: What what nationality wasn't remember.

Ian Pannkuk: Swedish and Norwegian.

I think a lot of.

Scandinavian movies, have a tendency to do that to sort of cross borders, which is kind of cool and its way.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: You know, having a little bit like of that hey you know Norway is really not that far I don't know why we wouldn't bring it up, because you know people are driving back and forth all the time.

Beau Newsome: yeah I remember Daniel arouse co was big into the well, a lot of foreign films, but he liked the Korean section and old boy was one of them.

And then man from nowhere, and I saw the devil were three that he.

He recommended, even without me watching him yeah I would recommend them to other people.

Looking for like.

A good foreign film yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah and and the funny thing about you know being that movie store clerk is you don't really have the time to watch every single type of movie to get a good idea of what every kind of customer is going to like but.

You can know those customers that you sort of trust their opinion on things.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Right yeah.

Beau Newsome: I mean not trust their opinion but know what their opinion is, and if you find a similar seeming person.

Ian Pannkuk: sure you go.

Beau Newsome: And like you said you would or sometimes you would watch a movie and be like I bet you this customer would like like this.

Totally yeah definitely.

Beau Newsome: that's cool yeah.

So I guess.

So in the timeline of things I so it's funny you say you started in 2014.

Ian Pannkuk: I think that's right.

Beau Newsome: Because I left shortly after.

Ian Pannkuk: mm hmm maybe six months after yeah.

Beau Newsome: yeah and then I believe Jamie hill started working there.

Ian Pannkuk: Right at the same time as me.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

yeah okay yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: I think, or maybe yeah i'm pretty sure that's right.

Beau Newsome: And we're hoping to.

interview Jamie next week.

Ian Pannkuk: Good.

Beau Newsome: or this this coming week.

because she she took over managing for a while.

huh couldn't do because she's assistant manager the kenworthy.

Ian Pannkuk: Maybe she was a little bit before me know i'm trying i'm thinking that makes more sense.

Beau Newsome: yeah like just a small, I mean like.

You don't leave before you.

Ian Pannkuk: came yeah yeah.

yeah that's right yeah and then she felt too busy with the kenworthy stuff, which of course makes sense, managing two places I can't imagine it.

Beau Newsome: Right and then did you at that point when Jamie left was that when you became manager.

or co manager.

Ian Pannkuk: boy I guess that seems.

Because I last, but I think it was, I think it was that yeah.

Beau Newsome: I can't think of anybody that would have been managing between.

Jamie and you and Ben.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I don't think so, I think I think Ben and I took over it, right after that.

Okay.

Beau Newsome: um.

I guess.

How did that come about, was it was through Devon Kelly.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah, so I think.

I think Ben had had some sort of anxieties about running the whole place by himself, he didn't feel like.

He wanted to do some of the aspects of the job hiring and firing and he was fine doing scheduling and but then like.

I don't know, for some reason I got I got the the bank stuff and.

And he got the the ordering new movies and and and you know I got the hiring and he got the scheduling and.

I don't know it just sort of it worked out pretty well.

And it wasn't that difficult of a place to manage, I think.

they're you know it's just they're sort of set routine of tasks and then there were a few moments, where an employee would would cancel at the last minute and you'd have to fill in for them or or.

find someone to fill in for them, but you know, at the end of the day it was it was a pretty easy.

position to do.

And the real difficulty came by having the budget getting smaller and smaller.

Passing you know quarter of the year, and each summer sort of having that moment where you're like wow we just lost money for three months straight.

Beau Newsome: yeah yeah the budget getting smaller and the.

The money coming in, you know you would look at the receipts at the end of the day and be like wow how, how are we even doing this.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah exactly yeah it got it got rough and that was sort of the I think the the worst part about being the manager, there was the the hovering X.

The the you know the executioner's acts of the the place dying.

It was just never out of the question.

I think Devon Kelly had even said to me.

like this place isn't doing that, well, we could end up closing.

Really early into me starting as the manager and so, for four years, that was kind of in the back of my head the whole time like.

I could, I could lose my job if you know we have a bad month or if Devon Kelly sit down and do the books one day and decide it's not worth it.

And that was kind of where the idea of the mainstream video co op came into it was it makes sense financially to get rid of a place that's just causing you work and not giving you any money.

But if we can keep breaking even then we can keep the doors open because the work would feel like a volunteer job, not a not a drain on your your.

Business that's supposed to be bringing you in something for that work you're doing you know, specifically the accounting and bookkeeping and things like that.

That dead did.

Beau Newsome: Right.

So yeah so then that kind of spawned the.

The video mainstream video store co op.

So kind of take me through that how how that kind of started and who is kind of.

behind that whole movement.

Ian Pannkuk: So when I became manager, I think we were already meeting about that.

Beau Newsome: Did you become soul manager, then so band last.

Ian Pannkuk: No, no.

Beau Newsome: Just okay.

Ian Pannkuk: When when I was co managing really early years before the mainstream video co op bought the store, we were already sitting down to meet to do all these planning things that had to.

happen because we didn't even know necessarily at the beginning that we were going to do a Co op.

And then, when we did the Co op it was all about you know these different paperwork things we were going to have to do and insurance, and you know finding the owners.

to buy the business, which was a lot of work and took a really long time just to get the amount that we ever got which was something like 200 full paid honors and another 250 maybe.

partly paid owners, so we had a plan, where you your your payment was $200 and you could do it at $25 a time.

Beau Newsome: And right right yeah we discussed that a little bit.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah and so.

Finding those 450 people to pay in was a lot of work and it took a long time, and then we you know bought the store and and transferred it into the Co op and and.

kept.

Ben and I as Co manager there until when I left and then Ben became soul, oh no.

there's been no Ben became soul manager, for a very short amount of time and then left and then Connor was manager.

Beau Newsome: Okay yeah we did you work with with Connor.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I hired contract.

Beau Newsome: Okay, you hired Connor okay.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah he was great.

Beau Newsome: yeah he was yeah he was a.

Again, another guy just passionate.

Another employee that was passionate about movies and yeah yeah.

So who was so out of the 450.

You were trying to get 450 customers.

Ian Pannkuk: Well, we we were hoping for more like 1000.

Beau Newsome: Do you remember how many you got.

Ian Pannkuk: 450

So what i'm saying is yeah we got 450 people in and we probably needed 1200 fully paid 200 partly pay or 500 sorry 500 fully paid 500 partly paid would have bought the whole store, but even then, you know I don't know what we would have done with coven.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

yeah we've kind of discussed that a little bit like it seems like coven what inevitably shut it down.

Ian Pannkuk: But then, then in Athens, I see.

Sorry go ahead.

Beau Newsome: After the the 14 day.

lockdown.

Maybe it would have thrived you know, maybe you could have done a walk up window and.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah exactly.

Beau Newsome: that's what Ellen and pay our.

own kind of a saying.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah and.

So, in a fantasy world, we would have had a delivery system for like you said walk in or drive thru window.

And we would have been able to organize the whole thing I one of the projects that the mainstream video co op had tried to work on was making a website that was a little bit better than our.

website that could have our whole movie collection on it, so that you know customers could look up our collection and you know plan it ahead of time.

Because the issue with you know picking out a movie over the phone would be that some of those conversations would end up being 15 minutes long.

And that's not really a reasonable business model if you've got you know one one employee with four phone lines or something like that.

or even one phone line it just wouldn't be feasible yeah so we were trying to work on a website, but then.

Everything costs money and we never had any spare money right.

Beau Newsome: yeah we kind of ran into that same problem when I was managing we're trying to get some sort of online presence at least our library.

Ian Pannkuk: Some.

Beau Newsome: Some people could search our library at the bare minimum.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: But yeah yeah money.

money.

Ian Pannkuk: money and time and complications always arose and then the people who knew how to deal with those things would say Oh, I could probably do it for $2,000 and you'd be like well, we have 40 bucks.

And they're like yeah sorry.

Beau Newsome: Do you uh Do you remember the.

going from the as 400 DAS this wasn't as 400 it was.

What was it called remember the DAS system do remember going from the DAS to the windows based so.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah so this system was incredibly old very weird it would kind of react in odd ways occasionally if you did a specific thing on a specific computer it would lock up all the systems and.

You never knew it was going to happen and and it just had these weird crashes.

Sometimes, and then.

One day, the computer system crashed fully and would never come back and.

Beau Newsome: Even with all the backups in place.

Ian Pannkuk: All the backups none of them fired for some reason, they just didn't work.

And we switched to paper orders and at that point, the mainstream video co op had most of the money that it needed to buy the store and was promising Devon Kelly, we are going to buy the story, you know we already had written up.

contracts and things like that and we just hadn't you know signed the contract, but everyone had I think looked over at that point.

And I believe that if Devon Kelly had not had a buyer the Main Street but video co op lined up to buy the store that would have been if they would have.

They would have close the store because of that computer crash, because the new system was going to cost money, it did, I mean it ended up being really cheap that we found, but the new system was going to cost money, they were going to lose two weeks of business because the.

system was down for a while and we had to rebuild some of the database from scratch.

Because that old DAS system refused to export its video titles in a reasonable way, so we had to like we had to clean up the data we didn't really have to do much from scratch, I think we did have to do, maybe four to six months of new movies from scratch.

So anything that the store had bought in the last four to six months or.

Something like that Ben would be able to tell you, because I think he figured out the I don't remember who actually ended up doing the data and putting he might he might yell at me and say I did yes.

I did I have it, I think I remember him talking about it yeah I had to.

Beau Newsome: sit there after.

Ian Pannkuk: I think that's right.

Beau Newsome: After hours before the store opens and just.

yeah enter in movie.

Ian Pannkuk: In six months versus new movies yeah.

Beau Newsome: But of.

course customer history that was all gone.

Like a.

bank what the parent cooks rented over the years.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah that was definitely gone rental history was was definitely gone what was out was kind of nebulous at that point, and so i'm sure some people stole some movies, at that point.

That was something that the video store had to deal with constantly was just this.

trickle of customers never returning movies and and Disconnecting their phones or you know.

Having that didn't work examine your card.

Beau Newsome: judge a credit card that we couldn't charge with we take credit card numbers.

Ian Pannkuk: So the the issue became with the new system that we couldn't take credit card numbers anymore.

Because it was a new system had to be connected to the Internet.

And you can't store credit card numbers on a computer that's connected to the Internet, and so there was no good way to do it, we we could have probably solved it some other way.

But it was it was something that you know, was a frustrating thing that always would lose us a customer if we had to charge them without you know they're coming in directly and swiping their card if we had to charge someone 80 bucks for five stolen movies, or something like that.

They weren't going to come back into the store they were going to be furious with us, we were going to only get you know that money once and over every two times because of people canceling their cards and or having you know, two old have a card in our system.

And so it wasn't that great of a system in the first place that we just decided it was a threat that we had that we can charge you late fees and we couldn't really follow through on that thread.

Beau Newsome: Right yeah some people, we have that wing over their head that well, they have my credit card.

And they're going to send me to collections, or whatever.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah and I think the threaten remain that we could still send them to collections, we still had that contract that you had to sign.

And I don't think thefts went up considerably without taking people's card numbers, I not that I noticed.

yeah really.

Beau Newsome: that's good.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah.

Beau Newsome: I mean that was always.

fat loss, you know yeah that was always a just a thing you had to deal with.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I think it's something you have to deal with in every business.

I sure don't take it personally.

Beau Newsome: Right.

Ian Pannkuk: Maybe they stole our Iraq adventures, or something like.

Beau Newsome: That was our hottest renter you know.

So, as far as I guess kind of walk walk me through the COP process a little bit because.

I you know, I was gone for that whole thing I remember sitting in a meeting at monique willard House once.

And then I never went to anymore.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah so basically we all met just a bunch of people who were sort of interested in the idea of saving the business.

Beau Newsome: I think a lot of monique has.

interviewed a lot of these people.

Know Linda.

Ian Pannkuk: yep Andrea.

Beau Newsome: Andrea Lauretta.

yeah yeah yeah.

yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: And, and we would meet at least monthly sometimes a little bit more often, but mostly was just monthly meetings.

To go over sort of what we needed to do to get this done at first it was plans of how we could buy out the store and keep it open how we could keep the collection together in general, and then, when we settled on the Co op model.

Then it was sort of you know hey you need to do this paperwork i'm going to plan this event i'm going to do this at the store and, and so they would ask.

US me and Ben Ben was always generally working during the meetings, it was that kind of thing, where you know the store was open when we would have the meeting so.

Out of the time it was it was during a time when when Ben was at the store and I was more interested in going to the meetings and.

And so I would I would attend all the meetings as the manager, not as a board member and then they would ask me hey you know, would you ask customers to become a Co owner of the store fundraising it's like fundraising.

Ownership drives as a cooperative, but in a way it's not fundraising.

Right so.

it's selling the stake in a store that your is never essentially going to give you any money.

I think that was never really in the plans for the co op of the store.

Ideally, if a business made a ton of money they would be sending all their co owners shares of the profits, but I think we had such a long road ahead of.

If we raised any money from the store, we were going to spend it on new shelves and new computer systems and website and new things that we could do to make money and and keep the store open for a longer period of time, so I never really.

told customers that they were they were going to buy into a profit sharing.

Company.

Beau Newsome: So i'm to go back just a little bit how long was the system, the window system up and running, after.

The.

crash after crash like was it running pretty smoothly at that point, after you guys got all your data in.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah I think that I ended up liking that windows system, it was not perfect, but it.

was just about as easy to look up titles I think you'll remember in that DAS system that if you had a single spelling error it wouldn't find anything if you started the word with it wouldn't it wouldn't find the correct title, it was always you know firm comma the.

Beau Newsome: Right right yeah conversation common yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: But you know it was mostly the same it didn't have any sort of special features that we could we could tap into that was really useful.

Okay um it had a little bit more robust have a customer screen, so we could input data like they were a Co owner and they had blast paid on this date and things like that.

But I think the DAS system, probably was working for that as well.

Beau Newsome: There was that kind of hard to keep track of people what they what they've already the $25 they've already put in and.

Ian Pannkuk: It was pretty simple.

Was um yeah and and really it just came down to the the employee checking them out, making sure to check that customer page when they pulled them up and say hope you're no longer a paid co owner.

You your your your $25 you know yearly payment was over a year ago, so if you want those co ownership benefits you'll have to.

You know, pay another $25 and i'm sure that some of our employees forgot to check that if people come ownership benefits to that and fade up and.

And i'm sure that.

You know, some people accidentally were.

asked are you a paying code owner co owner when they were already $200 in but you know it was mostly an easy system.

Beau Newsome: Did uh what were the what were some of the benefits of becoming a member.

Ian Pannkuk: We had a buy two get one free, I think that was a Monday through Thursday or Sunday through Thursday kind of a deal.

At older movies, rather than getting you know rent five for $5 which we had to increase eventually to five for $7.

We yeah so the old deal was five movies $5 five days and we increased it to five movies $7 seven.

Beau Newsome: Seven yeah I was there for that.

Ian Pannkuk: So that was yeah That was a good idea I like that.

Beau Newsome: It was we we got.

Plenty of.

backlash for it.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah it's like hey guys we actually have an increased our prices in like 20 years can we please.

Beau Newsome: Right yeah.

And yeah you're getting you're paying two more dollars, but you're getting it for 48 more hours.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah exactly think of the late fees savings right.

Beau Newsome: And it was such a I thought, a good idea, because you rent it on a Thursday, it was back on the Thursday you didn't have to do like math in your head you're like okay I rented it was five days from Thursday.

Ian Pannkuk: Exactly but.

Beau Newsome: So did you get a lot of customer reactions like what was the customer reaction for.

switching from Howard Hughes to the main street video co op.

Ian Pannkuk: You know a lot of people and paying the.

Beau Newsome: Demand paying the fees and becoming a member and stuff like that.

Ian Pannkuk: So I think it was about split 5050 a lot of people were happy to pay a sum amount of money you know a lot of people were happy to pay their $200 up front.

A lot of people were happy to pay $25 in just to see the store stay open sure, a lot of people were very passionate about the store.

And then, some people were like that sounds great i'll think about it, and then they would never become a Co owner or they would say to your face now $25 is way too much.

And so, you know that was fine and we never really intended to have every customer be a Co owner, either we would love, we would have loved for that to have happened but.

We knew that probably wasn't going to happen, just like at the food co op there's plenty of people who go in there who are never going to become owners co owners of the store and that's just something you deal with.

But you know, mostly people were very positive about the change and never stopped calling it Howard Hughes video.

Beau Newsome: I still have that problem too.

yeah yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I think that the those of us who call it the Main Street video co op for a couple years where the people in charge of changing it and then the employees to you know got used to answering the phone as the mainstream video co op.

Beau Newsome: Now, do you remember, was ever talks of keeping it Howard Hughes video and just calling it Howard Hughes video co op or something like that.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah you know we we discussed that and it was sort of in the early stages of naming at the Co op because it had to go on all of our filing paperwork and and we, we decided to keep to change the name, because we wanted to sort of generate more interest.

It was sort of a thing of like getting us in the papers, a little bit more getting us a little bit more buzz, why are they changing names and here's why you know you could launch into that conversation about what it means to be a Co op.

Beau Newsome: Did you get a lot of buzz or was it on.

Did you I guess how did you market it did you.

Ian Pannkuk: We had a.

Beau Newsome: Newspaper radio and.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah we had a newspaper sort of press release, we had a ribbon cutting ceremony, we had I think radio spot one time.

But.

Facebook Twitter that that you know we tried to.

Sure, raise a deal of interest there and I think it, you know it went over okay okay.

Beau Newsome: So, at that point, you were.

Co managing with Ben you never solely managed the song.

Ian Pannkuk: You never did.

Beau Newsome: I thought Okay, I thought you I thought you had but.

Then So then, when you left the video store we still on the Co op board.

Ian Pannkuk: Well, I couldn't be on the call board as the co manager actually so it was only after I left that I could be on the board.

Beau Newsome: Okay.

Ian Pannkuk: I just basically never stopped going to meetings.

hi I started as the manager, you know attending the meetings as the manager, because the manager is sort of the.

soul employee First it was i'm the manager of the Howard Hughes video and i'm coming here to help you guys out and see what you want from you know the the staff and then as sort of a you know that gesture of we want the store to stay open.

And then the you know I would go to meetings as the sole employee of the board, who hires the other employees and then.

Well, I wasn't ever the sole employee, I was the Co manager so Ben and I were both the employees of the board but anyway.

Then.

I just joined the board, as a member after stopping being the Co manager.

And yeah and then I was very busy in my other job and I didn't end up.

becoming the Chair or any important part until.

Basically I think boy it's hard to remember the timeline Melinda sham was the the Chair, I think, for alicia.

Beau Newsome: kind of.

spearheading this whole thing.

Ian Pannkuk: I think so, and monique.

Maybe yeah monique was one of the earlier members and then what by the time we actually bought the business monique was too busy and couldn't come to meetings anymore.

And then Melinda was the chair and her, she was the sort of one to pitch, the idea of the co operative in the first place, I think.

And she knew the most about cooperatives, at least, and so she she ended up being the chair for a good amount of time and then, when she was too busy It moved to Lauretta and then Lauretta, who was the manager of the hyper spud had to go through the sale of hyperspace and she was too busy.

And then I became the Chair.

Beau Newsome: After that, and this is all volunteer right.

mm hmm none of this was.

Ian Pannkuk: Paid or anything yeah yeah.

Which is generally how co co op boards go.

Beau Newsome: Is that how the Moscow food co op is like that, as well just a board members are volunteer only.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah they're volunteers, they get discounts at the store right they all they all decided like that they didn't necessarily have to have their discounts because they were more like passionate about the store.

I remember a lot of them came in during coven and you know when we were like losing a bunch of money at the store, because our Deli was no longer open and they would say stuff like oh I don't know if I want to take my 18% discount or something.

Beau Newsome: Like right like.

Ian Pannkuk: Fine don't worry about it take you.

Beau Newsome: So, so I guess what was it like being the Chair of the.

Of the board.

Ian Pannkuk: stressful i'd say.

yeah it was it was a lot of work.

In a time where I was struggling with.

You know one job that was a huge number of hours a week had ended, and then I was looking for new jobs, and then I was working in this other place and doing all these things all at once and and really when it came to the end of the store.

It was it was just this sort of hard reality of we had lost a ton of money, we were trying to come up with ways to recoup those losses, but.

Everything we tried didn't really work anymore.

Beau Newsome: Oh.

Well, what do you ever what kind of things you're trying or well.

Ian Pannkuk: We tried a couple fundraisers and ownership drives.

We were trying still to find someone to put together a website for free.

And we were trying.

We were just cutting the budget a lot.

Like a lot of it was we couldn't buy movies, for months, new movies, for months, because we had lost so much money for business over that last year summer so.

The summer was so slow that even $200 in a month was too much to spend on new movies, and it kind of snowballed from there, I think you know it was.

It was something where we just didn't have the budget for new movies, but then not having a budget for new movies sort of signal to people that the store was dying.

Beau Newsome: Right were you were you still on the board when the store finally closed.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah I was.

The Chair.

Beau Newsome: And Connor was.

still managing that Connor was like I you know I feel so bad because I was the one managing when the store when.

Ian Pannkuk: I feel the same way as him I don't think he should feel bad.

knows he doing a great job.

I can't help but feel terrible because I do feel you know the responsibility of that and I don't know what I could have done differently, but i'm sure that if I had volunteered more time to do you know, a different project or called all the Co owners or.

Something I you know, maybe there could have been a solution there somewhere, but really it ended up being just that slow motion executioner's at X that I had seen coming in 2015 or something like that it was it was coming all the way back then.

I think yeah.

Beau Newsome: yeah and you know in hindsight 2020 you know.

What what could you have done differently well there's a million things.

Ian Pannkuk: sure.

Beau Newsome: You can think of down the road, but when you're.

When you're in it, you know I remember.

When I was managing it was the video, so it wasn't doing very well, but it was sure as heck doing a lot better.

Ian Pannkuk: than it was.

Beau Newsome: 2019

You know.

Beau Newsome: But I was always in the back of my mind like well it's going to close any day now you know.

They could just stop it and.

So you know I guess is there anything you can think of off top of your head that you could have done differently in hindsight or.

Ian Pannkuk: You know, I think.

I think every solution that I can think of would have cost money, and if we had had the money.

I had talked about doing deliveries a long time ago, getting a driver and having those over the phone or even Internet.

sort of submissions of I want these five movies.

If we had had the website if we could have gotten the insurance for another employee to do deliveries, I think we could have increased or is.

Sorry, could have increased the stores.

revenue by a lot, by doing that, especially with the College crowd and all sorts of people who you know, like that convenience aspect of it, but you know we didn't even have the money for the first part of that plan like that relied on the first part, getting off the ground and we took.

So long just getting the money to raise.

raise the money, just to buy the store and we still were working on that basically we hadn't actually fully bought the store we we raised money for I believe it was half maybe two thirds gosh now, even though it's only been a year.

I really can't remember the details that well, I think we raised at least half of the money that we needed to buy the store from the previous owners and then we had a loan for the other amount.

Maybe it was just to Third, we had raised two thirds and we needed one third still but then the Co ownerships sort of slowed down and we never ended up continuing to to rack up that extra money that was needed.

Beau Newsome: How many Members were on the board at that point when you are chair Do you remember.

Ian Pannkuk: Five, I think.

myself.

Andrea was the previous treasurer she had been too busy I don't think we ever replaced her so maybe she was still technically part of the board at its closing but maybe she had officially resigned and we just hadn't had an official new treasurer.

Lauretta who I think should be awarded some sort of metal that we can think of, for doing so much work for the store and.

Melinda ended up having to resign from the board, because the food co op was considering giving us alone.

So she couldn't be involved with the video co op anymore, if the food co op she she was the food co op manager general manager.

And so, she couldn't be involved in both co OPS because it'd be a conflict of interest so she resigned.

And then.

That loan ended up not coming through in time basically.

Beau Newsome: Would that loan have what would that loan have done.

Ian Pannkuk: Well, it sort of depends, I think that Pat the previous owner was very eager to get us out of the building at the end when we had missed a month of rent.

And we're struggling to pay our other next month, on time, or something like that.

We she was eager to get us out of the building and then, when cove it hit that eagerness became in systems to get us out of the building, and so I think we would have had to deal with the move.

Finding a new place having a down payment the loan would have gotten a lot to have that and repayment of of pat's.

Losses you know her the previous rent she had waited owed her still and then we would have had it a little amount leftover.

And maybe we could have got the website and the you know got the delivery drivers and things like that, together, but I just think the wheels were moving too slowly, at that point.

And if the loan had come through in April or May after code hit you know, maybe, if it had come in three months earlier.

Maybe we would have pulled the trigger on getting a website, and we would have found a new place and maybe would have found a great place with cheaper rent, but I just don't think that it was all going to work out.

Beau Newsome: A lot of stars would have had to line right.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah exactly exactly right yeah Ideally, we would have found a place that could have fit more movies, with cheaper rent does that sound realistic not really.

Beau Newsome: Well, to.

This all sounds like an undertaking for a thriving business.

Ian Pannkuk: mm hmm.

Beau Newsome: But we're also talking about a dying business.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah with not a whole lot of future in it, where.

sure you know, thinking about you know all these new streaming services that are launching that's i'm sorry more business that we're losing business that we're ever going to gain back.

Beau Newsome: Even a thriving business would have a hard time dealing with alone and a move and new ownership and all that you know, and all that stuff it's it's a tough it's a tough ask and.

Unfortunately, all came to a head to.

Ian Pannkuk: The worst possible time where's.

The cove it was just.

Beau Newsome: Well, it wasn't meant to be or so, you know.

I don't know what yeah chalk that up as but.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I was bad yeah.

Beau Newsome: Well, I mean it sounds like.

I mean, I thought it was a good idea, you know it's like get.

An owner out.

yeah from from under you know which had to be a headache or a burden as far as financially and if it's owned by the people and the people want to rent it'll stay alive, but yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: Exactly.

I was, I still I would still suggest it if someday someone is is listening to this, who says, I have a video store in a bigger city or something like that, who is struggling still alive and struggling.

You know single person ownership is is basically based on that one person's idea of.

How they're going to benefit from this, whereas a Co op can be a bunch of passionate people who just want to see the doors stay open.

At the end of the day.

And I think really that's a positive idea and and having a Co op elected board that could have you know fresh people who are eager to take up the job of those volunteers who are tired and overworked you know, in a bigger community, I think it would have worked, Moscow is.

I think it was it was another one of those surprising things about how it is that we had managed to last as long as we did, because.

This this video store I knew in in Santa Cruz California.

A bigger city than Moscow in its own right and surrounded by big communities on all sides.

Their video store closed.

moscow's video store staying open was really remarkable.

yeah was it did, I mean, I think we were one of the the studies, I read said that are not studies stories and articles about video stores that I read said that there were less than 100 video stores.

In the country.

Which is shocking that one of them would have been in little tiny Moscow.

Beau Newsome: I know, one of them was asked, I would love to see the numbers.

You know exactly was Howard Hughes a Moscow.

Video of Moscow video store co op and I always get that wrong.

Ian Pannkuk: Go mainstream.

Beau Newsome: mainstream video co op.

How how long.

Are you know where where do we fall as far as.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah stores closing well you know I think the big one that took out most of the video stores was actually the success of blockbuster and then blockbuster dying.

Immediately closing out other stores nationwide all at once.

Was you know didn't leave any room they had killed off all the the local businesses, and then they gave up a little too early.

Beau Newsome: Right, you know I thought, once we outlasted Hastings and every other mom and pop video store out there, I thought hey we got a chance.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: But again, it goes back to the infrastructure we, the size of the store.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah.

Beau Newsome: i'm having the number of new releases.

yeah and then netflix battling that whole thing.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah you know if we had just gotten that Hastings customer base to switch over to us instead of switching over to online or red box.

Beau Newsome: yeah and again that goes back to.

If we could have just had some flora online presence I.

yeah that was one of my biggest regrets was yeah.

I mean again costed money.

yeah money, but maybe it could have generated a lot more money if we just.

put something online that people yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah.

A little a lot more money, a lot earlier in the process is exactly what it would have taken to make the stores to live today.

Beau Newsome: So where were you when you learn the video store was actually closed like fine.

Ian Pannkuk: I mean was.

Beau Newsome: Was that you're on the board and.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah unfortunately I have to say that it was it was sort of a board decision.

I think I was one of the last optimists on the board a lot of people were sort of saying we need to throw in the towel, we need to close this before we ourselves become financially reliant or.

We call it financially responsible, I guess, for the red debts of the store.

And so it was this this conversation between Pat the previous owner and us the board.

That that.

i'd say kept getting more and more.

Negative as time went along.

That.

That we ended up having to.

Close the store yeah we ended up having to to basically just had no other choice.

They gave us an offer to donate the the stores stock to the kenworthy.

And this is actually kind of where I want to go into something that I wonder if should be completely stricken off of the record.

Okay um, but I just I just have to get it off my chest, and the lawyer for Pat the previous owner, you know the one who we had the loan to pat's lawyer works for the kenworthy.

And he talked pat into.

Beau Newsome: Do you want to.

Stop recording.

Or do you are you don't do you care if this is.

Ian Pannkuk: You can keep recording I just imagine you're going to have to say minute you know.

Through.

Beau Newsome: Well, because I.

i've talked about this too, how.

Ian Pannkuk: Okay.

Beau Newsome: I mean, I think I know where you're going with it so.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I mean it's a conflict of interest in my eyes, you he talked to pat into donating the stores.

Selection to the kenworthy the kenworthy says that they are you know, a purveyor of the arts, but then they just sold off the cream of the collection and then gave it away when it was no longer valuable.

And that was a huge disappointment to me.

I was frustrated by that sort of finality of the ending of the the decision there.

But we didn't really have any other choice they were there other alternative was taking us the board members to court.

So.

that's that's where we went.

Beau Newsome: yeah I mean, I think.

monique interviewed pat.

And I think she has some regrets about.

Who she ultimately donated it to and what she I don't think she knew what the Ken where he was going to do with it, maybe that lawyer did but.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah, I think, in the end was that lawyers way for generating a bunch of money for the kenworthy.

Road she cared more about them, the video store of course.

And, and the kenworthy didn't get anything out of it, I think, other than just money.

So I would say in pat's case she ended up.

Hopefully, not losing too much of her money her own personal money because that was that just went to the kenworthy the kenworthy gained a bunch of money, hopefully, she was able to do something with you know, a tax write off for losses of for her business.

Right, you know alone that she said she basically got cancelled for a charitable cause.

And then the kenworthy.

took advantage of the collection and then the ui library got the rest, and I hope that they have some good stuff in there, because I have no idea.

Beau Newsome: I looked at it it's it's okay.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I mean, of course, so they can wear the they what they did is they went through and they picked the the top movies that were going to.

You know, get the most money, and as you and I probably know as people who know better, the collection of movies, that you have, I think, being generous 20% of the movies in any given collection are going to be good and 80% are going to be at least forgettable.

Right at the very least, if not downright kind of bad.

Beau Newsome: Well let's just say that the ui library didn't get the collection, I was hoping to see you.

Ian Pannkuk: know those got sold.

Beau Newsome: A lot of duplicates a lot of.

bits and pieces of TV land, you know.

A lot of movies from sections like now my personal favorite drama comedy action stuff like that.

comedy but it's cool dramedy yeah but, that being said, I did talk to Jamie.

And the kenworthy still has 99% of the criterion collection, so that in itself, they didn't sell any of that they kept all their French movies and.

In a few foreign titles and then she sent me a list of ones, they have.

Okay, and I was looking through it and it made me feel a lot better.

that's because I was like because, like when you first mentioned cult classics I was shaking my head, not because it's your favorite section, because it got dismantled in it.

yeah and sold off and it yeah.

That was hard that was a tough one critics choice of course.

yeah but so but they're just holding on to it and they're gonna they're not going to give you know give it away or selling or anything like that.

Ian Pannkuk: Criteria and that's i'm glad that they kept that section and and some of those harder to find foreign movies, is also a good idea to keep.

Beau Newsome: You kind of wish a lot, but again.

They saw an opportunity to make some money.

Ian Pannkuk: They also are a struggling business.

Definitely understand.

Beau Newsome: yeah and the room, they just I think they were overwhelmed from the little.

bit I talked to Jamie said they were overwhelmed with how much space, all this, all these movies took up.

Ian Pannkuk: Lauretta and I ended up being the ones to move all of the stuff to the kenworthy and it was this incredible amount of work physical effort, I think I don't know how many hours we spent because we had to get it done so fast we had under a week to move out of the the.

South main and because pat had found the buyer, who was the architecture.

Dan Mullen.

Beau Newsome: Who was across Main Street.

Ian Pannkuk: From yeah videos yeah yeah.

Anyway, we had to get all the movies out in a moderately organized way to the kenworthy in something like a week.

Beau Newsome: Did you have an idea of what the can really might be doing with them or did you have any idea.

Ian Pannkuk: I I overthink so I just sort of had my best case scenario worst case scenario in my head.

and

yeah I don't know I don't know where the the reality fell in terms of the spectrum of that I know the best case scenario was them.

renting out another location and opening their own movie store.

yeah.

Beau Newsome: The best case scenario, remember, there was like a vitamin store next to the kenworthy where.

It just gone out of business.

yeah and I was like ooh maybe they.

Ian Pannkuk: couldn't make a Punch a hole through and.

Beau Newsome: do some sort of a little storefront example video Rentals section, but.

yeah no that was that was wishful thinking.

Ian Pannkuk: That was wishful thinking yeah.

I like to keep a little bit of wishful thinking in the back of my head so like at night.

Beau Newsome: But you know, luckily I think with the titles, that the library did get and now I found out the titles to kenworthy still has I don't think they're going to rent them out or anything because they don't have the capacity to do that.

Ian Pannkuk: You gotta know yeah.

Beau Newsome: give some sort of computer system and get all that in line but i'm glad they're still at least the criterion is still intact, I was a little worried about that.

Because it was my favorite section, but.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: But I think that's spawned this whole thing of the library doing this oral History project which.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah which is.

Beau Newsome: Which is cool yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: For sure.

Beau Newsome: um.

it's good to a.

Little happier, do you have a happier most memorable moment of the store that could even go back to.

One of those crazy stories, you might.

you're thinking about telling but.

I don't think it matters on this recording if you want to tell it fine if not no big deal, but I guess just what is one of your favorite memories of the star.

Ian Pannkuk: um you know it sort of goes between.

I feel like one of my better memories was like I had a customer come in and just.

He talked to me a little bit about like oh i'm you know new to Moscow college student age person and.

New to Moscow I you know love that we have this collection here, we talked a little bit about like.

Basically, you know my favorite sections what what does he, like what is his favorite section is going to be, and then I think he ended up standing in the store.

In the cult classic section staring at the TV, as we watched like a studio ghibli movie together and like I you know didn't have any other customers.

And you know, I was typing a little bit, but, but basically just watching this movie that was then he was just watching the movie and it was moments like that that I think are the the best memories that I have of the store.

You know I like a little bit more quiet I bet the store would have done better that that story involved in a line of 20 people you know go stretching out the door.

Beau Newsome: Well, another thing about that.

520 South Main Street story it wasn't conducive to having a lot of people in there, especially around the counter.

yeah because a bottleneck.

Around where they would check out so that was another thing that was like.

Ian Pannkuk: Oh man I can't imagine with coven with the way we sort of see public spaces nowadays being in that bottleneck with a line, no one would be comfortable anymore.

Now.

Beau Newsome: yeah so that was that was just another thing.

Ian Pannkuk: You know.

Beau Newsome: At least the fifth street store was big enough that you could have two lines going down.

Ian Pannkuk: Separate lines and not.

plugging anyone up.

Right yeah but.

So one of my worst customer memories is the story that I that came to mind when I immediately.

When you asked.

me it's a this guy came in, with his family, so the sky and his wife and his young daughter probably a 12 year old and he asked, do you have any point in the store.

Is families right there and I said well not really you know we have this erotica section here.

it's you know rated X, but not triple X stuff and it's just this weird little collection and he said, like well you know you should get rid of that.

I had a porn addiction and then he just starts going off and explaining how terrible a porn addiction is to me in front of his wife and kid and it's just like boy, can we not have this conversation.

Like i've got other customers in the store to.

Witness is not the place for this.

Beau Newsome: Sure, and we, at that point we didn't have a.

No or.

Ian Pannkuk: By the time I started, we didn't have a point okay that was dismantled by.

That, I think we had a cardboard box in the back of vhs.

yeah that we hadn't gotten rid of yet, but we certainly weren't renting.

Right.

Beau Newsome: Do you know where that box went.

Ian Pannkuk: When idea, did we give it to the kenworthy that would be hilarious.

Beau Newsome: yeah that might be a question, I can ask.

Ian Pannkuk: But I think we did.

Beau Newsome: I only reason I ask is because there was.

Three classics debbie does Dallas which is probably worth at least something.

Ian Pannkuk: On the right.

Beau Newsome: yeah deep throat on.

vhs and.

Something devil and Mrs Jones or something like that, but then the rest was just throw away.

Ian Pannkuk: You know.

Beau Newsome: it's like I kind of wonder what happened to those vhs tapes you know.

Ian Pannkuk: Right yeah exactly I have no idea, you know I wonder.

If there's a list of exactly what we gave to the kenworthy somewhere floating around on my Google drive or i'm Lauretta or something like that.

Beau Newsome: genie might have something to.

Because I know that we're using less for people to when they were purchasing online.

Ian Pannkuk: They can learn through.

Beau Newsome: So maybe that was lists are still available.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah but.

Beau Newsome: I gotta say the list that she gave me was it's pretty good, like all the ghibli stuff is still there.

Okay.

Beau Newsome: All the criteria, a lot of foreign for some is actually all three of your movies, you mentioned.

Ian Pannkuk: are still there, I.

Beau Newsome: Am stalker and forced mature.

are still there.

Ian Pannkuk: Some someone there knows what they're doing.

Good yeah.

cool.

Beau Newsome: So, are you would you say you're still in contact with anyone from Howard Hughes or the the board or anything like that.

Ian Pannkuk: not really no I would i'd be happy to be in contact with anyone there, but I don't.

I don't you know, have a weekly phone call with Melinda or anything like that.

Beau Newsome: yeah.

or Lauretta or anything like that.

So I don't.

Beau Newsome: I don't think Lauretta is even a downtown business owner anymore.

Ian Pannkuk: No, I think she's probably pretty glad of that I know.

It was a big stress on her Whenever she would.

have to deal with anything of either of those businesses related I mean there it's it's very stressful.

Beau Newsome: So Mike, I guess, my question is that the guy that was going on is about as porn addiction did he end up leaving or did he read something or.

Ian Pannkuk: He rented regular movies.

You know.

I don't know if he's scared off any of my customers because.

I think they were all you know far enough along their rental process that some cost of walking out of the store there was too much, but.

Beau Newsome: um so Is there anyone that you that maybe I haven't mentioned that you would recommend We talked to anybody up.

Top your head.

band being one that we're going to interview Daniel roscoe.

Melinda Lauretta have already been interviewed Andrea.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah i'm.

Jen was an employee who started at the same time as me that was the one I was, I was mixing up in my mind Do you remember Jen.

yeah yeah I don't remember her last name.

scribe I actually.

Oh yeah that sounds right.

I think.

Employees are one of the things that I would go to Ellen.

hold on what's her last name.

she's she actually writes for the Moscow pullman daily news.

Oh, and she worked at Howard Hughes for a while.

Not very many hours a week, I remember ever but she worked there for at least two years, I think, maybe more.

She working at the Moscow.

Beau Newsome: pullman daily news.

Ian Pannkuk: Oh, she is now.

Beau Newsome: And I cannot kill the time she left.

Ian Pannkuk: The store to work at the Moscow pullman daily news I think that's right oh my gosh I really have to remember her last name I went to high school with her sister and.

Beau Newsome: Oh, she was a Moscow.

Ian Pannkuk: girl yeah yeah.

Okay yeah Maybe you can edit out the part where i'm forgetting everyone's last names.

Beau Newsome: yeah no no big deal, but you can always email it to me or something that you should come.

And we're to we're letting people know that if.

there's something else you want to add that you forgot to say, we can always do like a quick.

30 minute you know I don't know how exactly when our deadline is, but I know it's coming up here soon.

Ian Pannkuk: sure we see yeah I mean I I noticed that i've talked to you longer than any of your previous people that you've said.

Beau Newsome: yeah we're almost gone.

Now a half hour and 45 minutes.

Ian Pannkuk: Maybe yeah yeah looks like that.

Beau Newsome: yeah okay well.

Ian Pannkuk: I haven't forgotten anything.

Beau Newsome: yeah well she's if you think of it, we can always you can email, and I can put it in another interview yeah i'm like that, but.

There anything else we talked about that.

We haven't talked about that you want to.

Ian Pannkuk: know no just.

Just my undying love for the store.

Beau Newsome: I know I think that's why we're all kind of.

Why, we all work there and that's why we're all kind of interested in doing this, this.

Young and yeah.

i've kind of been asking people like give me like three, four or five of their favorite movies, of all time just because I like doing that and my curiosity, but i've noticing it's putting people on the spot and they're like I don't know but.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah so I basically have these two different sets of my personality, like the movie show off in me would say stalker.

Because you know it's it's a it's a very artsy movie it's a very difficult movie it's a long movie it's a slow movie and then the like most indulgent realist and me will just say Star Wars.

yeah.

Ian Pannkuk: Actually, actually probably.

boy that's a hard one I knew hope, I guess, sometimes I say it's return of the jedi.

The most dramatic I think of all the Star Wars movies yeah.

Beau Newsome: i'd have to say, might be empire.

Ian Pannkuk: But yeah that's a more classic answer it's a.

Beau Newsome: jet I in.

Jeddah and new hope you're right there with it.

yeah.

Well, you said that varies from.

time to time.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I think i've tried to bring up all my favorite movies, over the course but akira is my favorite anime.

But then.

NASA of the value of the wind is maybe my favorite ghibli anime and he has just such a different style that I think their their their own collection it's like pixar vs dreamworks right.

it's not.

About that all of the rest of Japanese animated movies, are dreamworks.

right but it's but it's like pixar versus all animated other movies, I think, and then you know one movie that I think I can't go without mentioning is the movie the room, the terrible worst one of the best worst movies.

yeah it it belongs in any movie collection I think it's it's so remarkable because of how how fun, it is to watch that movie like you really can't underestimate how bad and fun your it is to watch that movie.

Beau Newsome: yeah that's um.

that's that's was actually on Ken where these lists, they still have it.

Ian Pannkuk: Good.

Beau Newsome: And to what Kendall really wanting to do is you can rent out the kenworthy you can watch any of these titles.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah.

that's awesome.

For me want a party.

Beau Newsome: and watch the room because i've never actually seen it i've just heard millions.

Like celebrities have.

Like watch parties.

Ian Pannkuk: and get together and watch the.

room because it's a blast that's why.

So I think the first thing you should do.

Is get a hold of it and.

I mean if i'm up in Moscow, I will give you my BLU ray of the room, because I love it so much and watch it by yourself and then.

When cove it is over and we're having events again the police cult film festival does of viewing each year during their film festival of the room.

And that's where you get the the cultural aspect of it, where people are throwing things in the movie theater and you clap and you say hi Danny whenever Danny comes on screen and by Danny whenever denny leaves.

it's it's it's fabulous like there's a tote two totally different experiences watching it and going, is this really happening to me right now and then watching it as a as a.

Beau Newsome: And who would you say puts it on the police.

Ian Pannkuk: Police cult film festival.

Beau Newsome: Are they still doing stuff.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah I mean.

I know that they.

I think they had to cancel last year to do to cope it, or else they got in right before coven happened.

Beau Newsome: Where where would they have it for where we're at.

Ian Pannkuk: And where the.

Beau Newsome: Oh.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah they rented out the kenworthy and either the kenworthy gave them a good special deal because they were a sort of a nonprofit.

or they paid full price and and just raise the money for it.

themselves but.

yeah they would rent out the kenworthy and then show a bunch of different cult films.

And yeah it was it's a it's a blast it's a lot of fun.

Beau Newsome: yeah that sounds like fun that's cool.

alrighty and I think I think we're done.

yeah so.

Ian Pannkuk: I better go get some lunch.

Beau Newsome: yeah no kidding yeah it's.

it's a past noon down down there in Boise right.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah yeah.

Beau Newsome: Okay, do you want to just hang tight i'm gonna stop recording here, and thanks again for being with us thanks for doing this.

Ian Pannkuk: This yeah.

Beau Newsome: kind of a neat neat project so.

Ian Pannkuk: yeah for sure, and it was really nice to talk with you about this.

Beau Newsome: yeah yeah it's been fun alright thanks again yeah.