Richmond's video store revival is here
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Video rentals are back, apparently, and Richmond is having a mini-revival.
Why it matters: Everything old is in again, including DVD and Blu-ray rentals — and even mall shopping.
Driving the news: Blue Rose Video & More opened earlier this month in Chesterfield Towne Center, selling DVDs, Blu-rays and 4Ks and offering actual DVD rentals, owner Wayne Marshall tells Axios.
- It's at least the third new video store to open in the Richmond area this year, BizSense reports. Monster Video and Rewind Vintage also opened downtown.
- Marshall decided to open the store — and pursue his lifelong love of movies — after he was laid off from his software job last year.
- His wife, a fellow film lover, encouraged the move, and with the help of their two 20-something daughters, they've made the new store a family affair.
Zoom out: Be kind, rewind — again! Richmond isn't alone. New rental shops are popping up from Minneapolis to Philly as streaming prices rise, digital licenses lapse and online archives disappear.
- Part of the appeal is nostalgia: Video stores also hit a sweet spot for Gen Z — many of today's twenty-somethings are just old enough to remember wandering the aisles and picking out a DVD as kids, LA Times reports.
Zoom in: Rentals weren't part of Marshall's original plan for Blue Rose.
- He initially hoped to build a store for collectors like himself looking for limited releases, Blu-rays and 4Ks. But when he landed the mall space, he decided to test rentals.
- They've proven popular, he says, both with customers reliving the video-store experience and younger ones discovering it for the first time.
- One couple recently came in who remembered Redbox but had never set foot in a video store, much less rented a disc. Now they have.
Fun fact: The last Blockbuster in Richmond closed in 2014.
There's a club: To meet demand, Marshall launched a monthly rental subscription that lets members borrow up to three movies at a time with no late fees — for $10 a month.
- For September, the subscription is just $5 a month — less than the cost of one DVD rental more than a decade ago.
- Blue Rose doesn't rent players, but Marshall notes that many gaming consoles can also play DVDs and Blu-rays.
What's next: Marshall says his eventual dream is to build a full-size throwback video store — complete with a curtained-off back room — with a twist.
- Get your mind out of the gutter: This back room would host movie screenings, trivia and comedy nights — unlike the X-rated rooms from a generation ago.
If you go: Blue Rose is open daily in Chesterfield Mall, near Spencer's.