Video store revival arrives in Philadelphia
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Little Movie Store owner Dylan Wise stands inside his new shop filled with thousands of movies in East Passyunk. Photo: Mike D'Onofrio/Axios
Video rental stores are making a comeback, and Philadelphia is joining the mini-revival.
Why it matters: Tech fatigue is real and some people are ditching algorithms for IRL experiences and physical media.
Driving the news: The Little Movie Store opens in East Passyunk on Saturday, selling and renting DVDs, VHS tapes, Blu-Rays and 4K, owner Dylan Wise tells Axios.
- It appears to be the first of its kind in the city in the post-Blockbuster era.
What they're saying: Wise, 39, tells Axios his shop taps into nostalgia for physical media and a resistance to streaming services controlling (and manipulating) what we watch.
- Wise added that he wanted to open the shop for his own family to have a brick-and-mortar video store in their neighborhood to browse and find flicks.
- "There's a groundswell of people that are missing this sort of thing," both young and old, he said while standing behind the counter of his shop at 10th and McKean streets this week.
Zoom out: Philly isn't alone.
- New rental shops are popping up from Minneapolis to Richmond as streaming prices rise, digital licenses lapse and online archives disappear.
Between the lines: Video stores also hit a sweet spot for Gen Z — many of today's 20-somethings are just old enough to remember wandering the aisles and picking out a DVD as kids, the LA Times reports.
🔎 How it works: The Little Movie Store has more than 8,000 movies on the shelves of its roughly 1,100-square-foot store.
- Membership ($160 annually) is required to rent up to three titles at a time, as well as access free events, like movie nights.
- Titles range from classics to those not typically found on streaming services.
Plus: Can't decide? Check out the store's shelves of community picks for recommended titles.
❓ 1 fun thing: The store sells mystery bags filled with three hand-picked movies and one surprise. ($11)
If you go: The Little Movie Store opens at noon on Saturday.
- Hours: Thursdays-Saturdays from noon-7pm; Sundays 10am-4pm.