The end of an institution

Video House International, a fixture of Brussels' anglophone community for the last 18 years, has closed down. The video shop, on Chaussee de Vleurgat in Ixelles commune, appears to be the victim of the success of the DVD format. In the video era, VHI was one of the few places in Brussels where English-speakers could rent movies in their own language, and customers were happy to pay a small premium for the privilege. Now that DVDs come in multi-language versions, you can go to any rental place and pick up the movie of your choice in English (or Danish, or whatever).
It will be interesting to see what becomes of the vacant lot. Odds are it will be turned into yet another sandwich bar or restaurant on a street already teeming with them. And chances are in 12-18 months that eaterie will be shutting its doors too, unable to establish itself in the face of intense competition. A better business proposition would be a walk-in backrub and smoothie bar for the many stressed office workers in the area. Well, you can but hope!