The last remaining Blockbuster store in Plainfield will close by April, one of 182 being shut down by the troubled video/game rental company as it struggles in the wake of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Stock is being liquidated at the the 4704 Caton Farm Road store, with games and new DVDs currently marked down 10 percent and Blu-ray movies discounted by 15 percent. Prices will continue to be lowered as the April 9 closure date nears, an employee said.

The closure comes less than six months after Plainfield’s other Blockbuster at 13400 Route 59 was shut down shortly before the company went into bankruptcy. That storefront has been filled by the new Jersey Mike‘s sub shop.

In the last two years, Dallas-based Blockbuster Inc. has closed nearly 1,000 stores, according to a story by The Associated Press. Late last year, the company announced it would shutter 72 more stores by year’s end and another 110 stores in early 2011, the story said. The Plainfield store is one of the latter.

And more store closures could be on the horizon. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the company may sell itself for $290 million to a consortium of debtholders, who may in turn file for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy. The deal, which is being challenged by other debt holders, calls for 600 more stores to be closed by the end of March, the report said.

Experts say the demise of the movie rental company, which once dominated the market, is tied to its inability to compete with Netflix, which lets you order movies by mail or directly to your computer; Redbox, which rents videos via vending machines; and cable video-on-demand, where you can rent movies through your television.

A manager for the Caton Farm store refused to discuss the store’s imminent closure, referring all calls to Blockbuster’s corporate office. Calls to that office were not returned.

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