MERRIMACK – Like so many of the films in his store, Dennis Holman is a lost classic.

Holman, owner of Olympic Video, oversees the only dedicated video shop in Merrimack, one of few remaining in the area.

The growth of movie subscription services like Netflix and kiosk rentals like Redbox has left the video industry in shambles.

But Holman, who opened his store in 2007, counters the onslaught, offering something the video services can’t: true customer service.

“People will come in and ask for a film,” Holman said last month, sitting behind the counter of the Daniel Webster Highway store.

“The only problem is that instead of a title, they’ll tell me, ‘You know, there’s a cowboy and the guy has a horse and there’s a woman who sings,’” he said. “I’m proud to say, I usually can tell them what movie they’re describing, or I can ask a few more questions and then tell them.”

Video stores, which once lined local streets, have gone the way of the VHS tapes they used to sell or rent.

Long gone is Videomat in Hudson and Cinema Scope in Milford, among other local stores.

In their place is Netflix, on-demand movie services, and Redbox, which hosts more than 12 vending machines in the Nashua area.

Together, these services have been enough to sink even the largest competition. Blockbuster, the national video giant, declared bankruptcy last year after falling nearly $1 billion into debt, and it has closed more than 700 stores nationwide, including branches in Nashua and Merrimack, among others.

Even those video stores that have survived have had to change their mission.

In place since 1983, Main Dunstable Video in Nashua has taken largely to renting adult videos.

The store still takes in new releases and other contemporary titles. But in recent years, it has shifted its inventory, stocking as many as 3,000 adult films to catch more of a niche audience, according to a store manager, who declined to identify himself.

“You have to do something,” the manager said last week. “Look at the economy. How else are we going to survive?”

Other stores have done away with videos entirely.

In Hudson, the owners of Roger’s Variety stopped renting last month and is now looking to sell off his video inventory.

The store, which once stood as State Line Video, used to take in between $7,000 and $10,000 a week in video rentals from more than 4,000 regular customers, according to owner Roger Coutu, who bought the business in 2005. But in recent years, increased industry fees and service charges have combined with the new video services to decimate the profit margins. Coutu now takes in about $300 a week in rentals from no more than 30 or 40 customers.

“I can think of one elderly couple that was heart-broken (when we stopped renting),” he said last week. “They had remained local customers. But other than that, no one has complained. … It became cost-prohibitive. You can’t survive.”

Still, Holman is giving it a go.

As the video industry evolves, he is hoping his knowledge of films and how he cares for customers will prove a valuable, if not unique, commodity in the new on-demand world.

“Videos and movies have always been a hobby of mine,” he said. “A film makes an impression on you.”

And his loyal customers agree Holman’s passion and knowledge are as much a part of the renting experience as popcorn and candy.

“Dennis will recommend things, reserve things, make sure you have a pleasant experience,” said Deb Courtemanche, executive director of the Merrimack Chamber of Commerce and an occasional Olympic Video customer.

“There’s no vending box, red or otherwise, and no other outlet that I know of that ever will replace a community resource as valuable as Olympic Video,” she said.

“You can go in there and say, ‘I have four 10-year-olds coming over tonight. What do you recommend?’ And he’ll send you home with winners.”

Jake Berry can be reached at 594-6402 or jberry@nashuatelegraph.com.

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